


We're All Pretty Bizarre. Some of Us are Just Better at Hiding it, That's All.

by djpayne



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bullying, Child Abuse, Insecurity, M/M, repressed sexuality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-17
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-08 17:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/764245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djpayne/pseuds/djpayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam is unlucky enough to get Saturday detention. He is joined by his best friend, a bad boy who just makes Liam a nervous wreck, a kid genius who just wants to fit in, and a boy who doesn't speak. Like, ever. (Written in Liam's POV)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Why Do You Have to Insult Everybody?"

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, this is One Direction meets The Breakfast Club. I watched the movie about a week ago, and the idea has been bouncing around in my head ever since. I haven't kept the strict character formats and have strayed with several of the details, but that's okay! I'm taking the wonderful idea John Hughes came up with and putting my own spin on it with five of my favorite boys. 
> 
> Also, the title and chapter titles are quotes from the movie! Just incase you're wondering what it has to do with the story. :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It was only 6:45 A.M. Of _course_ he was the first one there.

Why did he always insist on being early to everything? All it did was make him look like a massive dork, and that was exactly what he felt like as he sat in the currently empty library, a few textbooks spread out in front of him and his pen drumming on the wooden desk in a sad attempt to pass the time. 

Liam Payne didn't do this. He didn't pull stupid stunts and get himself into trouble. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time a teacher had even reprimanded him for something as small as talking in class or running in the halls or not doing his homework because he didn't _do_ any of those things. Needless to say, his mother had completely flipped out when he had told them he'd landed himself in Saturday detention. He had left out the details, too ashamed to even think about telling them _why_. The sad part was it wasn't even his fault. He had just been there when it happened, caught in the crossfires as he had tried desperately to ignore what was going on, get his things out of the locker room, and get out of there. Because while he had certainly felt enough sympathy for the kid being pounded on, he wasn't brave enough to step in and tell any of his so-called friends to stop. That would mean becoming an outcast, and Liam couldn't do that. He was happy with his spot in Louis Tomlinson's shadow, and he would keep following the older boy around if it meant that people would just think he was cool and leave him alone. 

So far, it had worked like a charm.

Of course, hanging out with Louis wasn't exactly a dream. He was loud and obnoxious, and he didn't think before he spoke, nor did he care whose feelings he might hurt in the process. Actually, Liam should be furious at him right now for dragging him into this, for telling Principal Moore than Liam was just as involved as anybody else and holding back laughter as Liam floundered to explain himself. But somehow he wasn't. Somehow he had still hung out with Louis the next day and every day after that. He had even gone out with him and a couple of the other guys the night before, resulting in a late night and not enough sleep that he was sure he would feel before the day was over. 

"Yeah, mom, I understand. It won't happen again." 

Liam heard the unfamiliar voice before he ever saw the person behind it, greeted a few seconds later by one of his companions for the day. The blonde haired boy was on a cell phone, looking distraught with a back pack slung over his shoulder. He was leaning a bit to the right, proof that the back pack was filled with heavy books. It really wasn't a surprise, though. Niall Horan was one of _those_ kids, a genius who understood the material before the teachers even did sometimes. He didn't even have to try, always getting straight A's and doing extra credit projects and wowing the teachers with his amazing presentations. The weird thing was he didn't look like your typical dork. He wasn't overweight or especially awkward looking, he didn't have thick glasses or a high pitched voice. It was just that he chose to be in academic clubs and spend his time talking about space or whatever, and the other kids in their school weren't exactly welcoming to someone who was even the slightest bit different.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I don't understand why you're so upset, though. I've never even gotten into t-" 

The boy stopped talking and paused in the doorway, frowning down at his cell phone as if it had personally offended him. Liam guessed that the kid's mother had probably hung up on him, and he could sympathize. Actually, no, he _wished_ his mother had stopped talking to him about it. Instead she'd grounded him (which his father had promptly gotten him out of) and had continued to lecture him up until the second he had left home earlier that morning.

Liam realized at that point that he was staring, but it was too late. Niall's blue eyes had already landed on him, the blonde boy's cheeks turning bright red before he breezed past Liam and took a seat a couple rows back. Liam didn't spare him another look, but it wasn't out of rudeness. Something told him that Niall was probably thankful he wasn't paying attention to him.

A few more painful, silent seconds passed before another boy with curly brown hair and green eyes swept into the room. Liam couldn't remember his name to save his life, but he had seen him around, lurking in the hallways, ear buds permanently attached to his ears. Even in class, Liam didn't think he'd seen the kid without those things stuck to him, and he sort of wondered why he was able to get away with it. Their teachers probably realized that it was a lost cause, though. The boy never spoke and simply shrugged when his name was called (assuming he heard his name being called) to answer a question. 

Today he was adorned with tight black jeans, a black t-shirt of some band Liam had never heard of, a notebook that looked like it had been run over several times, and his ever present iPod. Not wanting to make an idiot out of himself again, Liam simply watched out of the corner of his eye as the newest addition walked by, his attention soon interrupted by a voice he both loved and hated to hear.

"Liam, you son of a bitch! I called you like ten times this morning! Don't you know how to use your phone?"

Anyone else might have gotten angry, might have stood up from their chair and socked Louis right in the jaw, but Liam had learned long ago that that was just _Louis_. Loud, rude, often offensive and always smiling when he did it. So he simply shrugged, looking up from his navy blue notebook and watching as Louis sat down in the chair next to him.

"Sorry, I was in a hurry this morning. Late night, you know." Behind Liam's words was an accusation, a ' _and it's all your fault, you asshole_ ', but Louis either didn't notice or didn't care because he barely gave Liam time to finish talking before he was rolling his bright blue eyes and pushing a lock of light brown hair from his forehead. 

"God, so we have to spend eight hours with these losers?" Louis asked, turning to look first at Niall and then at mystery boy, his attention then returning to Liam. He wasn't even trying to keep his voice down, and Liam could tell that Niall heard from the way he shifted in his seat at the insult. It made Liam sort of mad, sure, but as usual, he did nothing except keep his mouth shut and let Louis keep going. "I'm going to have a nervous breakdown, Liam. I swear. If I catch dork cooties, I'm blaming it on you." 

This time it was Liam who had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Dork cooties? Not only was Louis a bit of an asshole, he was also immature and a drama queen. Not only that, but how the hell could any of this possibly be Liam's fault? Louis was the one who was picking on that kid in the first place!

"Calm down, Lou. It'll be fine. We've got that history project coming up, remember?" The one that Liam had secretly hoped their teacher would assign partners for because he didn't want to work with Louis, but alas, Louis had snatched him up the second he learned they had their choice in partners. "I brought my book and stuff. We can just work on that and get it out of the way and..."

Louis gave him a withering look, putting a hand up to stop Liam from talking. "Liam. It's not even seven in the morning yet. My head still hurts from last night, and I do _not_ want to think about General Yamawawa or whatever right now." Liam didn't bother correcting him, mostly because he couldn't remember the correct name himself. "You've lost your mind if you think I'm working on that shit right now."

Liam just nodded, going back to playing with the dog eared corner of his notebook and trying not to think of how easy it would be to just grab Lou's head and bash it on the table once or twice. Not enough to seriously injure him, just enough so that Louis would stop treating him like a child. The sad thing was, Liam was actually bigger and stronger than Louis. He had several inches on him, and his muscles were much bigger. Liam just didn't have the attitude or courage, and Louis had both of those things in abundance.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Malik?! No smoking in the building!" 

Principal Moore's voice rung out from the hallway, and Liam's eyes drifted up as yet another addition stepped into the library. This one, Liam knew. Everyone knew Zayn Malik, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He stayed in trouble for smoking on school grounds (and sometimes in the building, apparently) and was a constant thorn in the teachers' sides. He was always late to class, and he always had some smart ass response. Today, he didn't disappoint.

"I'm already in detention! What're you gonna do? Lock me in the chokey?"

Liam's lips twitched at the Matilda reference (a _Matlida_ reference coming from Zayn Malik?), something that Principal Moore evidently didn't get. He just looked confused. That didn't stop him from taking offense to it, apparently.

"You want to spend next Saturday here, too, Malik? Because you're wearing my patience thin."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," was Zayn's only reply as he strolled further into the library. 

Liam's eyes met his for a second or two, but he looked away when Zayn simply quirked a brow as if asking him what the hell he was looking at. If Liam was being completely honest with himself, and he would because that was the only person he _could_ be honest with, Zayn Malik fascinated him. He was beautiful, to put it very simply. His dark hair always seemed to be styled perfectly, and Liam wouldn't even get started on his eyes. They weren't plain, boring brown like Liam's. They were hazel, with several different colors seeming to shine through. Not that Liam had ever actually studied them, of course. He nearly always had on all black, was never without his leather jacket unless it was summer, and he had several tattoos peeking out from underneath his clothes. Liam had more often than not found himself wondering what they were and what they meant, but considering the only words they had ever exchanged had been a ' _get out of my way_ ' from Zayn and an ' _okay, sorry_ ' from Liam? He really didn't think he was going to have an opportunity to ask Zayn what his tattoos meant.

The seat Zayn chose was the one directly behind him, and Liam had to force his shoulders to relax. He could almost feel the other boy's eyes on him, making him shift in his seat uncomfortably. This was going to be a really, really, really long day. Between Louis getting on his nerves and Zayn being there, he was almost positive that he was going to go crazy.

"Now that we're all here, listen up." Principal Moore's voice was stern and irritated, like he would rather be anywhere than where he was. Well, join the club. "You five are going to sit here and think about what you've done. You want to act like immature little brats? That's not going to fly here. One peep, one wrong move from any of you and you'll find yourselves back here next week so you can learn how to act right. You can do your homework if you want, but if you have any questions, you come ask me. I don't want you talking. I am going to give you one assignment for today, though. You're all going to write a paragraph explaining whatever stupid thing you did and why you thought it was a good idea at the time. Don't worry, no one else is going to read it but me. But trust me, you want to complete it. If you don't, you're going to be in the same boat next Saturday morning. Now," he paused, pointing towards the large wooden double doors leading into the library, "I'm going to be right through there. I can hear every little peep you make, so watch it."

With that, the middle aged man disappeared into his office, letting the door slam shut behind him. 

Surprisingly, it was Liam who broke the silence that had settled over the room, speaking quietly, his words meant for Louis. "What a jerk," he muttered, referring to Principal Moore. Louis nodded in agreement, and Liam would have said something else had a smooth voice behind him not completely interrupted his thought process.

"Ooh, jerk. Are you sure you should be using that kind of language, Payne?"

Liam turned his head to see Zayn smirking at him, leaning back in his chair so far that Liam wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't going to tip over. So the second exchange they would ever have was going to be a condescending one, one that reminded Liam all too well of Louis and how his supposed best friend treated him. He didn't have a response, no snappy come back because Liam Payne didn't come equipped with snappy come backs. 

Louis Tomlinson, however, did. He turned around to look at Zayn, blue eyes narrowed in an icy glare that Liam was pretty sure would turn a weaker man to stone. Zayn wasn't affected, apparently. "Listen to me now because I'm only going to say this once. You're going to sit back there, shut up, and leave Liam alone." 

Liam's brow furrowed at this, wondering why the hell Louis had chosen now to be so protective over him. Not that he needed protecting, of course. Liam was just fine trying out the 'ignore it and it'll go away' rule.

"Oh really?" Zayn looked amused, letting his chair drop back onto the floor, the sound muffled by the carpet. He leaned forward, hands clasped together in front of him on the wooden table. "What, can your puppy not speak for himself?" His words were meant for Louis, but his eyes were trained on Liam the whole time.

Liam just gaped at him, not sure if he should be offended and snap back or just let it go again. He certainly didn't appreciate being called anyone's puppy, but he also knew that arguing with Zayn was a lost cause. Teachers didn't even win arguments against him. The only person that had a shot in hell of winning was the boy sitting next to him, and Liam didn't want it to look like Louis needed to fight his battles for him.

Ignore it and it'll go away. That usually worked, right? So he diverted his attention from Zayn and turned back around in his chair, urging Louis to do the same. "Don't worry about it, Lou. It's fine. He's not even worth the effort. He's just bored and likes to hear himself talk."

Louis looked mildly impressed at the way Liam handled the situation, and by some miracle, gave Liam a nod to say he would let it go this time.

"You two are pathetic, you know that?" 

Well, so much for peace. Louis had whipped around in his chair again to glare at Zayn before the dark haired boy had even had a chance to continue.

"Excuse me?" Louis' voice was getting dangerous, and Liam turned around to intervene and try to urge them both to just drop it, but Zayn kept on before he got the chance to.

"You are both pathetic." He spoke slowly, as though he was speaking to two very slow children. "One of you can't even think for yourself and the other one is so far in the closet you might as well-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Louis sprung up from his chair at that point, and it was all Liam could do to make it to him on time, pulling him back by his arms so that he couldn't get to Zayn. Liam honestly had no idea who would win in a fight, but he really wasn't looking to find out. 

"And it's guard puppy to the rescue," Zayn drawled, looking bored. In that moment, Liam didn't find him so beautiful anymore. In fact, he reminded him too much of Louis, only harsher and with even less of a clue on when to shut his mouth.

Suddenly, a hesitant voice broke the tension, a blonde head peeking out from a book that he had had his nose stuck in up until now. "Guys, I... I think we should probably all just be quiet. Principal Moore is going to..."

Zayn and Louis both rolled their eyes at the blonde boy, but Liam nodded his head in agreement.

"Just drop it, okay? Please?" He begged both of them, urging Louis back into his chair before sending a look in Zayn's direction. He initially had meant for it to be a glare, but he just ended up looking hurt. He _was_ hurt. Liam had begun to expect Louis' little jabs, didn't even bat an eye at them for the most part anymore, but Zayn? Zayn didn't even know him, and he had no reason or right to insult him like that.

What he got in response was something that he never would have expected. Liam had been expecting Zayn to flip him off or cuss him out or fix him with that look of cool indifference that he had apparently perfected over the years. So when Zayn winked at him - _winked_ at him - Liam had no choice but to stand there and gape at him yet again. He stood there long enough for it to be awkward, and the only response Zayn had for him was one of his trademark infuriating smirks.

"Sit down, Li." Louis' voice broke the silence, a mixture of irritation and something that Liam couldn't quite place. He did as he was told, though, trying to replay what had just happened in his mind and wondering if he had imagined the whole thing. 

What he didn't see was the curly haired boy watching from the back, exchanging a look with Zayn and then shaking his head, a small grin curling his lips as he went back to doodling on the corner of his table.


	2. "Sweets, You Couldn't Ignore Me if You Tried."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I may have just stayed up until almost three in the morning writing this, but I'm not going to have a chance to write or even update tomorrow and wanted to get it up!

The next hour went by pretty smoothly. Or as smoothly as it could, considering the odd circumstances. Liam spent the whole time distracting Louis and hoping that his best friend didn't get in the mood for round two with Zayn, using that as his own distraction from thinking about the fact that Zayn Malik had actually winked at him. 

An hour later, he was still trying to wrap his mind around it, still unable to stop thinking about the way the dark haired boy's eyes practically sparkled when he... 

No. Absolutely not. There was no way he was going to focus on Zayn or his eyes or his smirk or his stupid leather jacket that he still hadn't taken off or his stupid tattoos for the entire eight hours he was stuck in here. And he certainly wasn't going to angle his chair towards Louis' as they 'worked on their project' so he could watch Zayn from the corner of his eye. 

Liam could tell himself that all day long, but that didn't keep him from secretly focusing on Zayn just as much as he was Louis, who was getting increasingly frustrated both from being stuck inside the school library on a sunny Saturday and from working on a project about World War II that he obviously couldn't care less about. Liam didn't care either, to be honest, but he figured that they might as well get it done while they were stuck there all day long. 

"You two are hopeless." 

Really? Again? This time it was Liam who turned around first, giving Zayn an incredulous look. "What's your problem?" He found himself asking, sort of shocked himself at the sudden question, but even Liam's fuse had a limit. But of course, in typical Liam fashion, he quickly tried to make his question a little less rude. "I... I mean, we're just working on our project. I don't see how we can possibly be offending you now."

"Well, I can't help but over hear your oh so brilliant conversation, and it occured to me that 'dumb jock' is apparently not just a phrase. You're getting the details all wrong. You've even gotten a few names wrong." Zayn replied, raising his eyebrows as if challenging Liam to argue with him.

Liam was about to open his mouth to do just that, to say that they had gotten the information out of the text book and couldn't possibly be wrong, but that was when Louis snapped.

"What would you know about it anyway? You don't show up to half your classes, and you're failing the ones you do go to. You might have a smart mouth on you, but your brain doesn't know how to keep up. So you'll understand why we're not jumping out of our seats to take academic advice from a burn out like you. Why don't you do yourself a favor and move to the back with your weirdo friend?"

At the mention of the curly haired boy, Liam glanced in his direction. He hadn't heard a single peep from the boy the entire time they were in the library, but that wasn't exactly surprising. Currently, the boy's head was resting on his notebook, his hair a wild mess of curls. He didn't appear to be asleep, just blissfully listening to the music that was blaring from his iPod. Liam couldn't make out the song or anything, but he could faintly hear the drum beat.

"My _weirdo friend_ 's got a name, you know."

"So?" Louis shot back, his facial expression one of pure, haughty superiority. "I don't care what his name is. Anyway, is he retarded or something? He's always got this blank look on his face and..."

"Shut your damn mouth, Tomlinson. You don't know anything about Harry." Zayn snapped, causing Liam to look back in his direction, shocked that he was defending the boy at the back of the library, who didn't have a single clue he was being talked about. Or Liam didn't think he noticed, anyway. Harry wasn't looking at them, and he didn't seem to be upset. Then again, Liam couldn't say with complete certainty that Harry would even care if he did know what they were talking about.

"Well, would you look at that? It has a heart." Louis' voice was condescending and sharp, his eyes fixed into a glare. 

"You're one to talk." This time it was Zayn's voice that cracked like a whip. Liam frowned and looked at him, too curious about where he was going with this to do what he normally would and stop him before things got out of hand. "You don't care about anybody but yourself. I've seen the way you treat people. I see the way you treat your best fucking friend, and you know what? You're a piece of shit, Tomlinson. If you got your head out of your ass long enough to really notice what was going on around you, you'd see that nobody likes you. _He_ can't even stand you," he said, motioning to Liam. "He just tolerates you because he's too much of a coward to tell you what a complete and total douchebag you are. But you know what? I have no problem telling you. You're a hypocritical, holier than thou son of a bitch."

The air in the library was so thick that Liam felt like he was choking, and it wasn't just because of the tension between Louis and Zayn. That was bad enough, sure, but what he was really trying to figure out was why the hell Zayn was trying to defend him. Or _was_ he even trying to defend him? He had insulted him and called him a coward in the process, so Liam wasn't exactly ready to thank him or anything that drastic, but something about the whole situation was just odd. It left him feeling uncomfortable and out of breath, and all he really wanted to do was sink into the ground and disappear so he wouldn't have to deal with this, but unfortunately he couldn't do that, because when he finally shook himself from his thoughts, there was a pair of bright blue eyes looking at him expectantly.

"Can... can we just not do this? Please? Lou, everything is fine. And you," he looked at Zayn then, surprised by the look of concern he found there before the hazel eyes were schooled back into their usual look of boredom and indifference. "I don't know why you think you suddenly know me enough to tell me how I feel, but just mind your own business."

It was at this point that Liam understood why Zayn and Louis clashed so spectacularly. They were pretty much the same person. Louis didn't back down when he had something to say, and Zayn clearly didn't either. He narrowed his eyes at Liam, not hostile but contemplative, leaning forward once again and locking Liam's gaze with his own. Liam shifted in his chair again, throwing a look in Louis' direction before his eyes inevitably traveled back to Zayn.

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about, Payne. Always looking to him for approval. Do you ever think for yourself? Have you ever made a single decision without thinking 'gee, what's Louis gonna think?'" He didn't give Liam a chance to answer. "I don't think you have. And you know what? I feel sorry for you. You base your whole existance around this one douchebag, and all it's gonna get you is nothing. What are you gonna do when we all leave here," Liam and Zayn both ignored Louis' mumbled comment about how Zayn was never going to graduate anyway, "and you don't have anyone to follow around like a pathetic little puppy?"

"Shut up." The words had left him before he really had the chance to stop them, and he frowned when they didn't sound as forceful as he would have liked. Instead they just sounded like a plea, a _please drop it because I know you're right and don't want to deal with it_. The sad part was that it was true. All of it was true, and having someone he barely even knew shove it in his face was hard to swallow.

"What part of leave Liam alone don't you understand?" Louis' voice was laced with venom, and it was times like this that Liam remembered why they were friends. Louis was crass, rude, downright mean sometimes, but Liam realized then that he had never actually let somebody else dog him. If anybody else was mean to Liam, it was all over. The worst part was that that just made things worse, made Liam look even more pathetic and unable to defend himself.

Liam had just about mustered up the courage to say something when the doors opened, revealing a tired looking Principal Moore. If Liam didn't know better, he would say he had been asleep in his office just now.

"Bathroom break," he announced, pointing at Liam. "You," he ordered, then pointed to Niall, "and you. You two first. You know where the bathrooms are. You've got five minutes."

 _Thank God_. Even if it was only a five minute break and he didn't really need to use the bathroom, he needed out of that room as soon as possible. He didn't know if the air conditioning wasn't working right or if it was just the tension in the air, but he was stuffy and felt hot. Needless to say, he didn't hesitate to get up, following Niall out of the library and heading into the familiar but eerily deserted hallway.

He had expected the trip to the bathroom to be silent, so he was a bit caught off guard when Niall started talking. "Watching you guys is like watching a soap opera." There was an amused little smile on his face, and Niall was honestly so non-threatening that Liam couldn't really take offense to what he was saying. "Or maybe not a soap opera. Maybe Jerry Springer." That last part was added thoughtfully, followed by another, slightly wider grin.

Amazingly enough, the comparison coaxed a smile out of Liam as well. "You think so? How much trouble do you think I would get in if I chucked a chair at Zayn's head?"

"Hmm, probably too much for it to be worth it," Niall answered, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they kept walking. "But do you want my honest opinion?"

Liam wasn't sure he did, if he was being honest himself, but he didn't have the heart to be mean to this kid. "Sure."

"I don't think he's the one you should be throwing chairs at in there."

Liam didn't have to ask what Niall meant. He already knew, had seen Louis pick on the blonde kid more times than he cared to admit, and he was ashamed at that moment because he'd never done anything about it. Liam was starting to realize that playing the blame game wasn't fair, pointing his finger and saying that someone was bad because they were doing something when he had every opportunity to stop it wasn't right. It didn't make him a better person than Louis. A bit more compassionate, yes, but compassion hardly mattered if you didn't put it to good use.

This time, Liam didn't bother to respond. What was he supposed to say to that? Instead they took their respective bathroom breaks and returned to the library, finding Louis and Harry standing at the door waiting on them to get back. Liam groaned inwardly, knowing that Louis being gone for five minutes (or longer, knowing his pension for bending rules and knowing he could get away with it) meant he would have to face Zayn alone, and that just made him feel even more pathetic. Because he could handle this. He could.

When he got back to his chair, he found that Zayn had removed his leather jacket, revealing wiry arms and a half sleeve on one of them. Liam paused for a second, only sitting down when he noticed the smirk on Zayn's infuriatingly perfect face.

"Don't look at me like that, Payne. I'm not gonna bite." A pause. "Not unless you want me to."

Liam felt his face heating up at that, but he still tried to look indignant as he leveled Zayn with another look. "That is the worst pick up line I've ever heard."

Zayn's brows shot up at that. "Who says I'm trying to pick you up?"

Shit. "That's not... I'm not... shut up." It was probably the lamest attempt at a sentence that had ever come out of his mouth, but he couldn't help it. What was he supposed to say?!

"I guess I could be interested, if you really wanted me to be. You're not that bad. You know, if weird looking noses and big brown bug eyes are your thing."

Oh, so now they were going to play it like that? Now Zayn was going to go all kindergarten on him and insult his appearance? Liam rolled his eyes, unable to resist falling into the trap. "I don't really care if you're interested or not. Your hair is ridiculous, your tattoos are stupid, and I guess you didn't get the memo that leather jackets are only for pretentious assholes." 

Zayn laughed at that, actually _laughed_ , his smile genuine instead of one of those stupid little smirks that had adorned his face so far. Liam found he liked it much, much better, and if he hadn't been so infuriated by him, he would have been coming up with ways to make him laugh like that again. Just to see the way his eyes crinkled and his ridiculously, perfectly white teeth.

"You know what, Payne?"

"It's Liam." Nothing bothered Liam more than being called by his last name, mostly because it reminded him of his barking baseball coach.

"Alright, _Liam_ ," Zayn continued, saying his name slowly as though he was testing it out. "You wanna know something?" Zayn was leaning closer now, urging Liam to lean towards him as well with a little wiggle of his finger.

Not able to resist, Liam rolled his eyes before he complied and turned in his chair a bit, leaning forward so that he was almost touching Zayn's table. "What?" He asked, also not able to help how breathless he was. Damn it, why didn't he just ignore Zayn, turn back around, and keep on with his work?

"I was lying before. You have pretty eyes."

If Liam's face was red before, it was nothing compared to now. He swallowed, a bit harder than was probably necessary, before turning back around in his seat. Maybe he should have said something. Maybe he should have told Zayn thank you or told him to fuck off or _something_ , but he couldn't form a coherent thought right now, much less a coherent sentence.

"Oh Jesus Christ." It was Louis, back from his trip to the bathroom. He looked at Liam, then at Zayn, then back to Liam before plopping back down in his spot beside his friend. "What did he do now?"

Liam just shook his head, trained his eyes on the blank sheet of paper in front of him, and tried to ignore the chuckle that came from behind him.


	3. "Well, if You Say You Haven't, You're a Prude. If You Say You Have You're a Slut. It's a Trap."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I totally lied! :/ I had an hour or so of free time clear up before I head into work tonight, and I couldn't resist sitting down and writing another chapter! I'm sort of addicted to this thing, I've got to admit. It's a bit shorter than the others, I think, but that's okay.
> 
> Thank you to those of you who commented! Feedback is always greatly appreciated, and I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far! Also, I promise there will be more Niall and Harry in future chapters! I love them and don't want to leave them out. That being said, I will try and sit down and write again tomorrow night, but if not, I'll have another chapter up sometime this weekend at the latest! :)

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

The sound was relentless, much like it's source, and Liam wondered if Zayn was tapping his foot against the leg of the table that incessantly just to annoy him, or if the other boy honestly didn't realize he was doing it. Maybe Liam was just strung too tight, overthinking things and making things revolve around him when they really weren't about him at all. After all, it had been at least half an hour since Zayn had even acknowledged his presence, something that Liam was both grateful for and a little grumpy about. You couldn't tell someone they had pretty eyes and then just ignore them! But apparently Zayn Malik could, and he had every right to considering Liam had made it very (and falsely) clear that he wasn't interested.

 _Click_.

Liam's eyes widened at the unmistakable sound of a cigarette lighter, figuring he would turn around to find Zayn simply fiddling with it. They were all getting restless by this point. Liam had taken to twirling his pencil in his fingers, dropping it more often than not, and Louis' fingertips hadn't quit drumming on the wooden surface of the table for the past fifteen minutes. So it wasn't a shock that Zayn was playing with the lighter that he wasn't supposed to have. It _was_ a shock, however, to turn around and find the dark haired boy sitting there with a now lit cigarette dangling between his lips.

"What are you doing?" Liam asked, not giving Zayn a chance to answer the rhetorical question with his inevitable smartass remark before he went on. "Put it out! You can't just light up in the library."

Zayn rolled his eyes at that, taking an obnoxiously long drag of the cigarette before blowing the smoke in Liam's general direction. At least he hadn't blown it right in his face. Liam was pretty sure he wouldn't have taken issue to getting out of his chair and smacking Zayn upside the head if he had been that rude. He had never particularly liked the smell of cigarette smoke, and he'd always considered smoking nothing more than a seriously nasty habit, but he had to admit. Zayn looked pretty damn good smoking. 

Once again he had to shake himself out of his thoughts. "I'm serious, Zayn. There's no ventilation in here, and if Principal Moore comes in here and smells cigarette smoke, we're all screwed."

It was then that Louis cut in, drawn from his cellphone that he had been furiously texting away on. "Malik, I'm going to give you five seconds to put that damn thing out before I get up and make you. Me and Liam have plans after this, and I don't want to walk around smelling like an ash tray. Pretty sure he doesn't either."

Liam's attention drifted to Louis, his brow furrowing. They had plans? When did they discuss having plans? The only plans Liam had made that Saturday afternoon was with his bed and the inside of his eyelids. He'd probably gotten around four hours sleep the night before, and he certainly wasn't going to feel like getting up to whatever Louis had in mind. He rarely felt like it when he was perfectly rested, to be honest.

To his surprise, Zayn rose from his chair and headed towards the nearest trash can, taking one last puff off of the cigarette before putting it out, wrapping what was left up in a tissue he had gotten off the desk, and throwing it in the trash. He also opened one of the nearby windows a bit, and Liam was relieved not only because it would get rid of the cigarette smoke smell faster, but also because he could feel the cool breeze drifting in through the opening.

"What are you doing?" He asked again, frowning when Zayn pulled a chair from a nearby table over to Louis and Liam's table, sitting in front of Liam, their knees almost touching under the table. Liam instantly moved back a bit, not wanting to turn into the stuttering idiot that that sort of contact with Zayn would inevitably turn him into. 

Zayn ignored his question, leaning forward on the table a bit in that manner that made Liam want to both lean forward to be closer and lean back to get away. "What are you doing tonight?"

"What?"

"Louis said you two made plans. What are you doing tonight?" Zayn repeated, once again speaking in that tone that suggested he was speaking to a child.

Louis sighed heavily. "It's none of your damn business, but we're going to..."

"No, no, no. I'm talking to _Liam_." Zayn said rather rudely, his attention never drifting from the boy he'd been talking to in the first place. 

Liam faltered, having to will himself not to look at Louis for help because he knew Zayn would get too much of a kick out of that. "I don't... I don't know." He admitted, figuring the truth was really the only way he could go here. He could have made something up, but Liam was a terrible liar, especially with someone sitting there staring holes into him as he was trying to think of said lie.

"You _and_ Louis made plans, but you don't know where you're going? You get a sudden case of amnesia, Payne?"

Louis looked as though he would like nothing more than to jump up from his chair and pound Zayn's face in, and considering what Liam had seen him do in the past, he was showing amazing restraint remaining in his seat. "I don't know what your problem is or why you think what you're babbling on about even matters, but if you must know, we're going to a party." A pause. "Don't look at me like that, Liam, I told you a couple days ago that Aaron was throwing a party tonight. I also told you we're gonna get you drunk and laid, so chin up."

Liam certainly remembered the 'drunk and laid' conversation. How could he not? Louis had announced his plan in front of the whole baseball team, and Liam had wanted to kill him for it. Much like he did right now.

Liam sighed, turning to Louis and looking at him with almost pleading eyes. "I told you, I don't need you to-"

"Bullshit. You're seventeen and still haven't popped your cherry. It's embarrassing." Liam didn't think it was nearly as embarrassing as using the term 'pop your cherry,' but that was beside the point. "Much longer and you won't be allowed to be my friend anymore." And the embarrassing Louis that Liam couldn't remember why he was even friends with was back. Liam just gaped at him, torn between the urge to hit him and making up some excuse to get out of there and go to the bathroom or the cafeteria or _somewhere_ that wasn't here. 

Liam didn't know what he had been thinking, _why_ he had thought it was a good idea to tell Louis his secret. Or secrets, really. If Liam had been straight, he would have had any number of opportunities to have sex by now. He wasn't the most popular boy in school, no, but he was popular enough by association that sleeping with him would make one of those popularity chasing girls look good or feel better about themselves or whatever. The problem _was_ Liam wasn't interested in girls, and after what felt like the hundredth time of Louis pushing a pretty girl his way and sending them off with a wink, only to end with Liam giving her some excuse about not feeling well and getting out of there as soon as possible, Liam had _finally_ let Louis in on his secret. Let him know exactly why he hadn't slept with a single one of those all too willing girls. And to Louis' credit, he hadn't told a soul about Liam's sexuality. 

But if Liam was being honest? Something told him that was less out of the goodness of Louis' heart and more because his friend was going through the same thing himself.

"Why so embarrassed, Payne?" A pause, before he fixed his mistake. "Liam. It's not exactly a shock to anyone here that you're a virgin."

"I am not!" Again, Liam's mouth had run away with him. What was the big deal? So he was a virgin. Who cares? Apparently Zayn did, because he was sitting there looking at Liam as though he wanted to eat him alive. "I mean..." A sigh, his eyes flickering from Zayn to Louis, then back to Zayn. He felt trapped, like he had to explain himself. "Fine, I am, but it's none of your business. It's none of _your_ business either," he said to Louis, slamming his textbook that had been open but untouched for the past hour shut again. 

Zayn laughed at that, but it wasn't demeaning or condescending, his expression more gentle than it had been before. "Calm down. There's a silver lining to it all, right? Keep it up for a little while longer, and this douchebag won't be your friend anymore, remember?" He motioned to Louis, gave Liam another one of those infuriating winks, gave him an equally infuriating pat on the knee, then returned to his table. 

Liam watched him the whole time, suddenly less embarrassed about the whole virgin thing and more curious now about whether or not Zayn could see right through him. Then again, Liam wasn't exactly leaving a whole lot to see through. The way his eyes lingered on Zayn, the way he tensed whenever he touched him, the way he fumbled his words when Zayn got too personal. It was obvious, right? 

"I'm going to go see if Principal Moore will let me get something to drink." Louis announced, then it typical Louis fashion. "I'm about to die of thirst." In even more typical Louis fashion, he didn't bother to offer to get anyone else anything. Liam watched him go, thinking for a moment that maybe he should get up and join him, but he ultimately decided against it. 

Then, just as Liam was about to attempt to settle back into the routine of silence and pretending to work on his project that he had already decided he was going to fail, he felt a tap on his shoulder. There was only one person it could be, and Liam was trying to decide whether he should be worried or annoyed when he felt a warm presence next to him. Zayn had evidently stood from his chair again, his hand resting on Liam's shoulder as he leaned down to speak directly in Liam's ear. Good God, that really wasn't fair.

"You're not fooling anybody, Liam." Zayn's voice was barely above a whisper, and Liam was just about to ask him what he meant when he got his answer. "If you really want a good time tonight, ditch the party and come hang out with me."

Liam was almost positive he couldn't breathe, nor could he make himself look at Zayn. He wouldn't be surprised if his face burst into flames at this point, but after a couple of seconds, he couldn't resist it any longer and turned his head to meet Zayn's stupid, perfect eyes. The dark haired boy gave Liam's shoulder a squeeze, grinning at him before he headed towards the desk to get another tissue Liam knew he didn't even need.


	4. "I Mean, How Do You Apologize for Something Like That? There's No Way."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for all of your lovely comments! :) I realized that you all probably thought I was a Louis hater considering his characterization so far, and I didn't start this story with the intention of making him a total jerk. Trust me, there are reasons! I could have made this chapter much, much longer, but I think I'm going to just continue this part of the story in Chapter 5.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Over four hours had passed since they had been shut in the almost painfully stuffy library. Not only was Liam uncomfortable, both physically and because of the increasingly infuriating boy sitting behind him, but he was starting to get hungry. His stomach had let out a few loud, embarrassing growls over the past few minutes, causing Louis to snicker and tease him a bit. It had been good natured teasing, though, complete with Louis calling him a 'fatty' for being hungry already. But seriously, he hadn't eaten anything since grabbing a banana on the way out the door that morning! He was surprised his stomach hadn't started to rumble long before eleven o'clock. 

"Jesus, Liam," Louis said with a laugh when another low growl came from beside him.

"I can't help it! I didn't know Principal Moore was going to be a food nazi, too." Liam's reply was mumbled, reliving the embarrassing moment nearly an hour ago when he had asked if he could run to one of the school's many vending machines to grab a snack. The older man had informed Liam that this was detention, not one of his baseball games where he could go grab a hot dog any time he wished. And that was too bad because Liam would kill for a hot dog right about now.

"I've got Nerds."

The voice came from the middle of the library, and Liam turned his head to find Niall looking at him expectantly, almost hopefully. Honestly, he had almost forgotten the blonde boy was there. Other than their very brief not quite conversation in the hallway earlier, Niall hadn't really bothered to say much. Not that Liam could blame him. With Louis in the room, ready to pounce at anyone or anything that he deemed uncool, speaking up probably wouldn't have been very smart.

"Oh look, the nerd has N-"

This time it was Liam who cut Louis off, first with a look that very clearly told him to be nice and then with a, "Shut up, Lou." He could only imagine what other snide comments were running through his friend's mind, and he really didn't feel like hearing any of them. Niall was a nice guy, was sitting there actually offering them _candy_ when there wasn't a single person in the room who had done anything to deserve an ounce of kindness from him. 

"Nerds? Are those from your Halloween stash, kid?" 

It wasn't Louis making the snide comment this time, and Liam turned his head to find Zayn smirking and looking in Niall's direction. He shouldn't have expected any different, really. Zayn wasn't really _nice_ to anybody. Even if what he was saying was nice, there was always a sarcastic undertone or a snarky comment or some thinly veiled insult to go along with it. There wasn't any real malice in his eyes, though. Just amusement. Zayn seemed to say these types of things because he was bored, because he liked seeing people squirm, and Liam realized in that moment that maybe he wasn't really all that special in Zayn's eyes. Maybe all the comments about his pretty eyes and about how he should come hang out with him had been nothing more than Zayn just wanting to do what he did with everyone else: watch Liam dangle on a metaphorical hook while he watched him like it was the funniest thing he had ever seen.

"No, I just like them." Niall's answer was simple, to the point, and if his feelings were hurt by Zayn's rudeness, he didn't show it.

"What kind you got?" Liam found himself asking, ignoring the looks he got from both Louis and Zayn as he stood from his chair and headed towards Niall's table. If this had been the cafeteria, he wouldn't have dared sit with this kid. It was a sad, but true fact. But here? Well, he was starting not to care what Louis thought at the moment, he was having to force himself not to care what Zayn thought, and Harry... well, something told him that he could set off bottle rockets on top of Harry's table, and the boy would only blink up at him with those big, green eyes that seemed to convey no emotion whatsoever.

"Um," Niall paused, eyeing Liam a bit nervously as he sat next to him, then reaching into his back pack to retrieve a Ziploc bag full of candy. "Pretty much any kind you could want?" That grin was back, and Liam found himself grinning back, both because the smile was sort of infectious and because this kid actually carried around a bag of _candy_ in his back pack.

"Can I have the blue ones?" 

Niall's grin only grew, as though he was happy to give away his candy, before he dug around in the bag and retrieved one of the small, square boxes and handed it over to Liam, who took it with a smile of thanks. Nerds wouldn't hold him for long, but they were better than nothing.

"You guys want any?"

It look like it pained both Louis and Zayn to get up from their respective spots, but they both came trudging over, Louis grabbing a pack of rainbow flavored and Zayn grabbing the only other blue box. Neither of them thanked him, but Niall didn't look offended. Liam was surprised when both boys actually pulled up a chair, Zayn settling at the end of the table right next to him, Louis dragging a chair across from Liam and plopping down. The table wasn't huge, but it was big enough for the four of them to sit at without being too cramped.

"Harry, get your lazy ass over here and join the party." 

The curly haired boy barely reacted to Zayn's demand at first, simply arching one eye brow and looking from person to person, the sour look on his face suggesting that joining them was the last thing he wanted to do. It was only when Zayn threw a small hand full of candy at him that he huffed, stood up, and practically stomped over to join them, pulling up a chair and sitting on the opposite end of the table. When Niall held out the bag of candy to him, Harry looked at it like it was going to give him the plague. 

"I don't take candy from strangers." It was the first time Liam had actually heard Harry speak, and the voice definitely didn't match the face. It was low, even lower than his own, and each word was spoken with a slow drawl. It probably would have taken him at least ten minutes to get a story out, whereas Louis could have breezed through it in two.

Louis rolled his eyes, Niall and Liam simply stared at him like he was out of his mind (and maybe he _was_ ), but Zayn didn't seem to be shocked. 

"So, what're you guys in for?"

Liam froze at Zayn's question. He really, really didn't want to get into this territory because it was sort of a double edged sword. If he told the truth, that he had simply been changing out of his workout clothes and had literally been on his way out of the locker room when he had managed to walk right into Charlie Caperton getting the snot beat out of him by Louis and a couple of his other team mates, he would end up making himself look pathetic and unable to stand up for himself. And that wouldn't do because Zayn already thought that anyway (since when did Liam _care_ what Zayn thought?). If he lied and said that he had participated in it, he would only look like the jerk he tried so desperately _not_ to be.

The only sound that could be heard was the soft _crunch, crunch, crunch_ as they ate their candy. 

Zayn rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go first. I was smoking in the guy's bathroom, didn't put my cigarette out all the way, and might have accidently started an itty bitty fire." He didn't look ashamed or embarrassed. No, he looked amused, his eyes meeting Liam's as Liam gaped at him.

"That was you?" He had heard about the sad demise of the trash can in one of the boy's restrooms. Actually, there was still a black ring and a small heap of melted plastic on the tiled floor from where the trash can had once sat that the janitor just couldn't seem to figure out how to get up.

"The one and only."

Laughter broke the silence that followed, and Liam realized that that was literally the first time he had ever heard Niall Horan laugh. Not that he had spent a large amount of time around him, but he had honestly never seen him in any other way than when Niall was scurrying down the halls, trying not to be noticed as he made his way to his next class. His laugh ended up making Liam laugh, a bit of a chuckle escaping him because _okay_ , that was funny. Stupid and reckless and immature and _infuriating_ , maybe, but also funny. 

"What about you, Payne?" Something told Liam that he was going to start calling him that on purpose, just to get a rise out of him. "What did Mr. Perfect do to end up here?"

Suddenly the stupid box of candy sitting in front of him didn't look so appetizing, and the thought of the trash can ablaze wasn't so funny anymore. He shrugged. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." It was a vague answer, one that he knew Zayn wouldn't be satisfied with, but it gave him a chance to stall, to think about whether he really wanted to tell what he had (or hadn't, in this case) done or tell Zayn to just fuck off and leave him alone. It wasn't just about him either. If he told the truth, he would be telling on Louis, too, and for some strange reason, he actually cared enough not to do that.

"He's telling the truth," Louis chimed in.

Liam just looked at him, stunned. The Louis that Liam knew would have already been making stuff up, telling the other three boys about how Liam had held the poor kid back while another one of their friends hit him. Time and time again, Liam had been involved in schemes and plots that he had absolutely no part in. His mother had threatened to ground him a million times for things he hadn't done. And honestly, if he did get home three hours passed curfew or come home drunk off his ass, it was because of Louis. It all came back to Louis, and Liam always seemed to help him pay for it, if not pay for it all by himself. So the fact that Louis was sitting there, pretty much admitting that Liam wasn't at fault? It was weird, and it left Liam wondering if he hadn't stumbled into some kind of alternate universe where Louis Tomlinson actually had _feelings_.

"You're gonna have to tell me more than that." Zayn didn't look impressed. In his defense, it wasn't like he knew the details of the situation, didn't know that Louis was acting massively out of character.

"I know what they're talking about." Niall hadn't looked up from where he was absentmindedly pushing little pieces of candy around on the table, and for a second or two Liam wondered how the hell Niall could possibly know anything about it. But then it hit him.

Charlie was that scrawny, freckled red head that was always following Niall around. His voice was higher pitched than it should have been, his clothes never fit right, and every word out of his mouth was just plain awkward. He might as well have been walking around with a giant, red bullseye on his forehead. 

"Charlie's your friend, isn't he?" Liam asked, too ashamed to look at Niall.

Niall nodded. "Yeah."

Seeing Louis Tomlinson squirming in his seat was one of the weirdest things Liam had ever witnessed. He looked uncomfortable, embarrassed, ashamed. Well, he should be, but that didn't mean Liam didn't want to stick up for him. He didn't think what Louis had done was right in any way, but he was still his best friend.

Realization seemed to dawn on Zayn's perfect face. "Pricks."

It was just one word, but it stung in ways that Liam never would have expected it to. His brow furrowed as he looked at the source, surprised to see Zayn looking at him with anger in his eyes. He deserved it. He could admit that, but that didn't make it any less surprising.

Liam shook his head. "I didn't d-"

"Were you there when it happened?"

His answer was reluctant, and he once again looked away from Zayn. "Yeah."

"Did you see it happening?"

"Yeah."

"Could you have stopped it?"

"I... I guess I could have, yeah."

"But you didn't." It wasn't a question.

"No."

Zayn scoffed and shook his head. "Pathetic. So not only did you not stop it, but you took the blame for it? For _him_?" His finger was pointed at Louis, who instead of cussing Zayn out like Liam expected him to, was sitting there in very much the same position as Niall, his eyes never leaving the table. 

Liam looked to Louis for help, and it was no surprise that he didn't offer any. "I didn't know what to do, okay? I couldn't just... I felt sorry for him, but what was I supposed to do?"

"You could have helped him." It was Niall this time, but he wasn't angry like Zayn. He just looked hurt.

Liam shook his head, almost desperate for _someone_ sitting among them to understand. Niall obviously wouldn't (and with good reason), Zayn looked furious, Louis wasn't offering any help, and Harry was just sitting there watching them like they were some interesting television show. 

"You don't understand," Liam tried to argue.

Zayn scoffed a second time. "No, I think I got it. You're a coward, and you're fake. You prance around like you own the place, but you're really more of a loser than the biggest geek here. Because I don't care what happened, I wouldn't take the blame for something someone else did. And I wouldn't stand there and watch someone getting pounded on just so a group of jocky losers would think I was cool. You're gonna have to grow some balls and stand up for yourself eventually." 

It was nothing that hadn't been said to him before. Hell, Zayn had said the same thing earlier, just worded slightly differently. It was the topic of conversation combined with the memory of what had landed him detention in the first place, plus the fact that everything Zayn was saying was true. He felt like he was on fire, both because he was embarrassed and because he felt trapped, wanting to defend himself but knowing he had no right to. 

"I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say this, Malik, but shut the fuck up and leave him alone." Louis' tone lacked the usual venom, but the sentiment was still there. "It was all my fault, okay? I told our coach Liam was doing it, too, and he started yelling and sent us all to the office before Liam even had time to defend himself. And yeah, I could have said something to Principal Moore and gotten him off the hook, but I'm a giant dick and I didn't, okay? I don't dislike Charlie. I don't even _know_ Charlie. All I know is that he was there, he's weaker than me, and I thought it would make me look cool because again, I'm a giant dick."

Harry squinted at him, head tilted to the side as though he didn't comprehend a word Louis was saying. "Why would you think beating someone up would make you look cool?"

Louis rolled his eyes. "Do you live in the same world we do, Styles?" How did Louis even know the kid's last name? Liam certainly didn't. 

"Apparently not, but if that's what it's like, I don't want to live there."

"Me either," Niall joined in, frowning as he looked at Harry, then at Louis. "Did you know he had a nose bleed for an hour after that?"

Louis shook his head, face carefully blank. 

"Yeah, he's got... I don't know really know if it's some kind of medical condition or something, but it takes him forever to stop bleeding. Through his nose, anyway. He got hit in the face with a soccer ball during gym last year, and he had to go to the nurse because his nose wouldn't stop bleeding."

Liam felt like he was out of breath again, and it wasn't because of the nervous, excited energy that Zayn had made him feel earlier. Now he just felt so ashamed of himself that he couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry." His voice was quiet, quiet enough that if the library hadn't been silent enough to hear a pin drop already, he likely would have gone unheard. "I never meant to hurt anybody." And he really hadn't, but as he was coming to realize over and over again, standing around and doing nothing was sometimes more hurtful than if he had been doing the hitting himself. 

Niall nodded, and Liam was stunned to find something like sympathy in those blue eyes. "I didn't figure. You don't seem like that kinda person. You're the only one out of the group of people you hang out with that's never made fun of me." A pause. "Wanna know why I'm in here?"

Five minutes ago, all four boys probably would have looked at him curiously, desperate to know how someone with such a perfect record could have landed themselves in detention, but right now? The only response Niall got was a, "Sure," from Harry's side of the table.

"I cheated on a test. Well, actually, _I_ didn't cheat myself. I gave someone else the answers."

Liam frowned and looked at Harry, who just shook his head to say it wasn't him. "Then why isn't he here, too?"

"Because he's on the football team, and he wouldn't have been able to play last night if he got in trouble again." Well, that certainly explained it. The baseball team got a fair amount of special treatment, sure, but each member of the football team was treated like a god.

That only left Harry, who looked lazily from person to person as four sets of eyes turned to look at him.

"Come on, man," Zayn urged him. "Tell us what you did. Can't be anymore pathetic than any of the rest of us."

"Actually, you're wrong about that. I didn't do anything at all. I would just rather be here than at home."

Louis frowned, blunt as ever as he asked, "Why would you willingly come to school on a Saturday?"

"Well," Harry said in his almost too slow drawl, "my step dad doesn't have to work this weekend."

Liam had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and Zayn and Niall seemed to be just as confused as he was. Louis, however, had turned as white as a sheet.


	5. "I Don't Think Either One of Them Gives a Shit About Me. It's Like They Use Me Just to Get Back at Each Other."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another sort of short chapter! Also, I PROMISE that Zayn and/or Liam (and eventually both) will get their shit together eventually. ;)

Harry didn't bother to elaborate on why his step dad not having to work that weekend was a bad thing, and at first, no one asked. Liam definitely wasn't going to. It seemed far too personal of a subject to get into with a kid whose name he hadn't even known until that morning. Besides, who knows what it could be? It could range from anything as simple as Harry just not liking the guy for not letting him stay out as late as he wanted to, to anything as complicated as the reasons he might _give_ Harry not to like him.

"What, is he a prick or something?" Clearly Zayn didn't share Liam's reservations, but then again, Zayn was a bit closer to Harry than he was.

"Something like that."

Liam studied Harry's facial expression for a second or two, frowning when he couldn't make out anything. This kid was absolutely impossible to read. Harry didn't appear to be mad or sad or bitter or any of the emotions that Liam felt when he thought about his own parents. Honestly, though, they weren't that bad. They might as well just go ahead and sign the divorce papers and with Liam as their only child, he seemed to be the perfect weapon for them to use against each other. If Liam's mom grounded him, his dad would swoop in to the rescue. If his mom told him he didn't need something, like the brand new baseball bat he'd wanted a month ago even though his 'old' one was only a few weeks old, his dad would rush out and get him three. Geoff Payne had all the money in the world to spare, but not enough sense to see that he was buying his son's affection instead of actually spending time with him. His mother was too busy with work and meetings and being a part of so-called 'high society' to really care about her son at all unless he had done something that made her look bad or she wanted him to show his 'handsome face' at one of her events.

Something was telling him that Harry's situation was drastically different, but again, Liam wasn't one to pry. 

"My dad's kind of a hard ass," Louis offered. Four pairs of eyes turned to look at him, none of them more shocked than Liam. In all the years he had known him, Louis had never offered an ounce of detail about his family, and they never hung out at Louis' place. Liam had never really thought anything of it. It just made sense that they hang out at his house. It was huge, he had a pool, and it was closer to school than Louis'. Not only that, but Liam's mother thought Louis hung the moon, which was kind a laugh since he was the reason her 'precious baby' had turned into such a 'troublemaker.' That was also hysterical because seriously, _this_ was the first time Liam had ever been in any real trouble, and it wasn't even that bad. Just a stupid Saturday detention.

"Oh yeah?" Zayn looked skeptical. "What does he do, send you to bed without dessert?"

 _Here we go again_ , Liam thought, eyes shifting between the two boys. By some miracle, though, Louis didn't jump on him physically or with that sharp tongue of his. Instead he just shrugged, not bothering to glance Zayn's way before he repeated Harry's answer from a moment ago.

"Something like that."

Something seemed to spark in Liam's brain at that moment, like pieces of a puzzle he hadn't even known were there were suddenly coming together. His brow furrowed as he studied his friend's face. Louis never looked like this, defeated and sad and... well, just not like _Louis_. Suddenly it all made sense. The way Louis never wanted to go home, the way he stayed at Liam's house more often than not, the way that when it was three o'clock in the morning and he was drunk off his ass, he demanded they stay out 'just a little longer.' The way Louis would freak out if he messed up during a game. The way he explained away bruises on his sides and arms by telling Liam and anyone else who asked that they were from one of the many fights he had gotten into, when Liam was pretty sure Louis had never even taken a single hit because the poor guy he chose to pick on was always smaller, always weaker, and always too scared to fight back. The way Louis slept with girl after girl after girl after girl when Liam was relatively positive that he wasn't even interested in them, if the way he had caught Louis checking out guys in the locker room was any indication. The way Louis was always picking on Liam, trying to make him feel bad so Louis could feel good. It all made sense now, and Liam frowned at himself because he wondered if maybe he should have seen the signs before.

His eyes met Louis', and something in the other boy's blue eyes told Liam that he understood what had just happened. Liam had just figured out his secret, without Louis having to say anything at all.

"Hits you, doesn't he?" Again, Zayn was there to butt in. 

Liam sighed, wondering if he had somehow found a person who knew how to shut his mouth even less than Louis did. "Zayn, don't."

But to Zayn's credit, he didn't press further, and that was good because Liam probably would have hit him if he had. Teasing someone for being a virgin was one thing, but prying into someone's obviously painful private life wasn't something he was going to tolerate.

Harry's eyes hadn't left Louis the entire time, and Liam wondered if the curly haired kid wasn't going through the same thing. It wasn't long before he got his answer.

"Maybe your old man and my step dad should start a club." It was probably meant to be a joke, but he said it with that same old Harry dead pan that left Liam unsure of what the hell was going on inside his head.

"Shit, Harry, why didn't you tell me?" Zayn asked. "You could've stayed at my place. Still can, if you want."

Liam would have offered the same thing to Louis, but he didn't need to. Louis knew he was always welcome, and now Liam felt bad for ever being annoyed when the other boy showed up at his doorstep. "What are your parents like?" Liam found himself asking Zayn the question before he really had the chance to think about it, breaking his own rule of not asking questions that might delve into the realm of 'too personal.' 

Zayn turned to look at him then, and Liam was shocked to find that same anger in his eyes from before. "Wouldn't know. I haven't seen them since they kicked me out two years ago. But if I had to bet, I'd say they're still the giant pricks they've been since the day I was old enough to understand them." His voice was laced with sarcasm, like Liam didn't deserve to know. Maybe he didn't, but he still didn't know what he had done wrong.

"Why are you getting mad at _me_?" Liam asked, a bit offended.

Zayn barked out a laugh. "Incase you haven't noticed, the world doesn't revolve around _you_ , Payne. Besides, why do you care what my parents are like? Why do you care what any of our parents are like? You can go home to your stupid three story house and your fancy swimming pool and your cushy BMW and fuck off."

"I don't have a-"

"Whatever it is, then! Your parents probably have an entire room made into a shrine just for you. With all your trophies and shit. Your house is probably like a disgusting episode of Leave it to Beaver where you all spend so much time kissing each others' asses that you don't notice that there are people in the world who have _real_ problems."

Liam just looked at him with wide eyes, and although the words hurt and he really wanted to say something, why should he? His parents weren't the nicest people in the world, no, but they hadn't kicked him out. They had never laid a hand on him either, and if he said anything, he would just look like the whiny, spoiled little rich kid that Zayn was already accusing him of being. So he just sat there, only lasting a couple of seconds before the silence got to him. He couldn't sit at this table anymore. He felt suffocated, and he knew it was selfish because he wasn't the only one with family problems, and _his_ family problems probably did look like an episode of Leave it to Beaver compared to Louis' and Harry's, but he very simply didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to look pathetic. Because when it all came down to it, all he really wanted was for his mom or dad or _someone_ to actually give a shit. Maybe come to one of his games or actually cook him dinner. Or hell, let him cook _them_ dinner so they could eat in the same room for once instead of his dad ordering take out while his mom went to another one of her benefits and ate some fancy six course meal there.

Without another word, Liam got up from his chair, pushed it back over to the table where it belonged, and took a seat back in his original spot. He could faintly hear the hushed coversation the other boys were having, and he knew it was probably about him, but he didn't care. He didn't want to be a part of it. He couldn't help but hear when Louis got irritated enough to raise his voice, though, and Liam had no doubt in his mind that it was Zayn he was talking to.

"His parents ignore him, you asshole! They don't have a fucking shrine to him. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a single picture of him in that whole house. His mom only gives a shit when she wants to dress him in a suit and parade him to her friends, and his dad might as well just be a giant hundred dollar bill because that's all Liam gets from him. So shut your mouth and _think_ before you say something."

Silence. Liam was expecting more snide comments about how he was a coward and an asshole and any one of the other names Zayn had called him that day, but it never came. 

What he wasn't expecting was to see a flash of tattoos and black slipping into the chair beside him. He sighed, mentally exhausted. "I don't want to talk to you, Zayn. I'm not in the mood for round four or five or... whatever this is. You're right, okay? You're right about everything, so we'll just leave it at that."

Zayn remained silent for another few seconds, but he didn't get up. Then, "I'm sorry."

Liam sighed. "It's okay." It wasn't, really, but that wasn't Zayn's fault.

"Liam, no, it isn't. I didn't mean to be such an asshole to you about it, I just figured that... well, you're pretty damn perfect, so I didn't think your family could be anything but sickeningly perfect, too."

What? _What_? All those arguments and all that name calling, and now Zayn was sitting there calling him perfect? Liam was getting a headache. So naturally, he chose not to comment on it.

"I don't want to talk about parents anymore, okay?" Liam finally said, hesitantly meeting Zayn's eyes. "Mine suck, yeah, but I'm not going to sit here and whine about it when... well, you know."

"Okay," Zayn nodded "then we won't talk about parents. That's fine with me, I don't wanna talk about mine either. What _do_ you want to talk about?"

Liam paused, trying to think of something cool or interesting to say, but his mind was blank. It was only when Zayn put his arm on the table that Liam finally spoke, eyes trained to the tattoo that stood out the most. "What does that mean?" He asked curiously, pointing to the large ZAP tattoo.

Zayn looked down to where Liam was pointing, grinning and completely unashamed when he answered. "I like comic books."

" _You_ like comic books?" Liam questioned, eyebrow arching in amusement.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I don't sit up reading them every night or anything, and I don't have Batman sheets anymore, but-"

"Anymore?"

"I had Batman and Robin sheets when I was little, okay?"

"So did I." Liam admitted. Actually, he had on Batman underwear right now, but he wasn't about to admit that. "Have you read Matilda lately?"

Now it was Zayn's turn to look completely, utterly confused. "What?"

"You asked Principal Moore if he was gonna throw you in the chokey when you came in, remember? That's from Matilda."

Zayn laughed, and Liam took that opportunity to notice how perfect his teeth were. Everything about him was perfect, actually. Even up close when Liam should have been able to notice more flaws. "You remember what I said when I first got here?"

Liam's cheeks might have turned a bit redder then. "Well, I just thought it was funny. I used to love that book."

"Me too."

Liam took a second to look back at Louis, realizing he was being a shit friend by not being there for him when Louis had just revealed something as big as he had. Then again, Liam guessed that Louis probably just didn't want to talk about it. To his surprise, though, he seemed to be having an animated conversation with both Harry and Niall. Liam couldn't make out what they were saying, but they were smiling. That was a good thing, right?

"They're bonding," Zayn broke the silence with a grin when he noticed where Liam was looking. "It's weird. Like watching one of those National Geographic shows where you're not sure if the mother lion is going to cuddle or eat the abandoned baby antelope."

Liam couldn't help laughing at that analogy, wondering if Zayn actually sat up and watched National Geographic while he read his comic books. Because he was pretty sure Zayn had been lying about that. "They'd probably say the same thing about us, don't you think?"

"Probably. But I'm not gonna eat you. I promise." Zayn said with a smirk.

"Hey, who says I'm not the lion?" Liam asked with mock offense.

"Nah, you've got those big brown doe eyes. You're definitely the baby antelope."

Liam had absolutely no idea where what he said next came from, whether it was some sort of courage that suddenly came over him, or whether he just very simply wasn't thinking at all. 

"So you're gonna cuddle me, then?"

Zayn laughed again, but it wasn't cruel or mocking. His eyes crinkled a bit at the sides as he scooted closer, his arm sneaking around Liam's shoulders before Liam could even think about protesting. Not that he would have anyway. "Yep."

Liam's shoulders were tense at first, so tense that it was almost painful, but he let himself relax when he felt the other boy's thumb starting to move in gentle circles over his arm. Why did all of this have to be so confusing? Liam felt like any second now Zayn was going to say 'just kidding' and go right back to calling him a pathetic asshole or a coward or maybe a whole new insult that he was thinking up as they sat there. But when he looked at Zayn, who was looking back at him, he didn't see malice or anger, just a bit of what looked like fond amusement and maybe a bit of something else he couldn't quite read.

"You can smile, you know," Zayn said, eyes briefly moving to Liam's lips before he looked into his eyes again. "It's okay to smile. I can tell you want to."

And Zayn was right, so what could Liam do but comply?


	6. "You Won't Accept a Guy's Tongue in Your Mouth, and You're Going to Eat That?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First thing's first, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS! They really do make my day.
> 
> Second, I realize that high school football and baseball seasons typically aren't together, but for the sake of this story they are! :/ I wrote it, but then I was like oh no, that isn't right! And then I realized I don't care because I'll need it for later, okay?
> 
> Third, this chapter is nothing but Ziam Ziam Ziam. I couldn't help myself. :(
> 
> Finally, don't let the chapter title fool you! The quote has nothing to do with what actually happens in this chapter. If you've seen The Breakfast Club, then you know that Bender says it to Claire before they eat lunch. And I love it so and wanted to use it while I had the opportunity.

So maybe Liam hadn't forgotten how to _really_ smile, even though it had been a long time since he had. There were the smiles he gave his father, so blindingly fake that he was pretty sure he looked like one of those stupid people in those toothpaste commercials. Then there were the half assed, not even half smiles he gave to his mother, but that was okay because she didn't care as long as everything in her proper little world was in place. There were the half smiles he gave when hanging out with his friends, never daring to fully smile because he spent the whole time worried that something bad was going to happen. Because it usually did. 

His friends were all jerks, if he was being perfectly honest, and although he had been quick to put Louis in that same category just a few hours ago, he was realizing quite quickly as he watched his best friend interact with a nerd and perhaps the weirdest boy he had ever met in his life, that he was really just misunderstood all along. All that lashing out was because of what he was going through at home, and Liam could certainly understand that. His situation was different, but his home life did sort of make him into the person he was. And that wasn't a good thing, in either of their cases.

Liam wasn't stupid or naive enough to think that one Saturday detention was going to change everything. They weren't all going to walk out of the library at three o'clock holding hands with promises to be friends for life. Hell, they more than likely wouldn't even talk to one another in the hallways after this was over, and while that thought would make him sad later on, it didn't matter right now. What mattered was that in that moment, they all seemed to be exactly what they _should_ have been allowed to be: teenagers without a care in the world. 

Right now, that was exactly what Liam felt like. His parents didn't matter, his slipping grades or history project didn't matter, baseball didn't matter. Nothing mattered but the boy sitting beside him, who still had his arm around Liam, although it had slipped lower so that it was resting against his back instead of across his shoulders. It didn't matter, though. Zayn's hand was curled against his waist, and it felt like the skin there was on fire.

"So, where do you live if not with your parents?"

"I've got an apartment. Actually, no. I wouldn't call it that. It's more like a shit hole." Zayn shrugged, clearly not too upset by living somewhere that might not have been up to other people's standards.

Liam had actually opened his mouth to ask how Zayn could possibly afford his own place, but he quickly thought better of it. First, it was none of his business. Second, he didn't want to seem like he was turning his nose up at Zayn for not having money. "Still must be nice, though? Not having to answer to anyone. Sometimes I think I should move out. It's just weird at home." He paused, frowning at himself for getting so personal when he had sworn time and time again that he wasn't going to, but how could he stop now that Zayn was looking at him with curious eyes? "It's big. And there's a lot of stuff there, but it's still sorta empty. Sort of like a hotel. And my mom freaks out if you don't take your shoes off by the door or there's a dirty dish on the counter or something." He left out the part where he used at least five different glasses a day, leaving them all on the kitchen island where she would be sure to see them when she came in and got her glass of wine. "My room's the only place that even looks like anyone lives there, but our maid cleans it, too. A few years ago, I came home from school and my mom had told her to throw away all my comic books and action figures because I was too old for them." Thankfully, Rosa actually liked Liam enough to store them in a box for him, which he still had on the top shelf of his closet. 

"Well, maybe I should come over sometime before your mom gets home. I'm good at making messes," Zayn offered, lips twitching in an attempt not to laugh before he continued. "I'll even find a nice mud puddle to step in and make sure I don't take my shoes off."

Liam had to chuckle at that, imagining the look on his mom's face if Zayn Malik were to actually step through her front door. His tattoos alone would be enough for her to turn her nose up at him. The ear peircings and leather jacket would just be the nail in the figurative coffin. "I think that's a good idea. She'd hate you." A pause. "No offense."

"None taken. I think I was put on this Earth to piss off adults."

"You're gonna be one someday, you know," Liam pointed out. "What's gonna happen then?"

Zayn just looked at Liam like he had lost his mind. "I might technically be an adult, but I refuse to grow up."

"Obviously." The wide smile on Liam's face was proof enough that he was just teasing. "Can I ask you something kind of personal?" _Oh, fuck it,_ he thought. They had already gone too far into the realm of personal for it to be an issue at this point, so Liam was prepared to break his own rules. 

Zayn shrugged. "Sure."

"Why did your parents kick you out?" Liam realized at that point that he really shouldn't make such snap decisions, because he regretted the question as soon as it came out of his mouth. "You... don't answer that, if you don't want to." 

To his surprise, though, Zayn didn't look anything but patient and calm. "Nah, it's cool. They, uh, might have walked in on me making out with this guy once."

"And they kicked you out for it?" Liam couldn't even imagine how angry and disappointed his parents would be if they figured out he was gay, especially like _that_ , but he seriously doubted they would actually kick him out of the house and leave him on his own because of it.

"Yeah, well. Being gay is kind of forbidden. They're Muslim."

Well, that definitely explained it. "And you aren't?"

"Nah, I don't really like organized religion."

"Neither do I," Liam admitted, although he had honestly never been to church in his entire life. Something told him be wasn't missing out on much. "So do you like baseball?" Liam found himself asking all of the sudden, not realizing that he had leaned into Zayn more and more over the last couple of minutes.

Again, Zayn looked at him like he'd gone insane. "No."

"Oh."

"Why? Want me to come watch you play?" The question was amused, and Liam knew at that point that he was way too transparent.

That didn't stop him from trying to be coy, though. "Maybe. If you want."

"When's your next game?"

"Monday," Liam replied, watching Zayn as though staring at him hard enough would tell Liam what was going through his head. Because God, it would be awesome if someone came to see him play, and it would be amazing if they could actually be friends outside of this stupid library. But he wasn't going to get his hopes up just yet.

"We'll see."

Liam nodded, knowing that that was all he was going to get at this point, and that was okay. 

The door burst open, causing Liam to jump a bit and Zayn to remove his arm from around Liam's waist. He wasn't exactly thrilled at the loss of contact, but he also didn't think their Principal would be thrilled that what was supposed to be discipline had turned into a sort of cuddle session. 

"Is it lunch time?" Niall asked, peeking from around Louis with such hope written all over his face that Liam couldn't help but grin. 

Principal Moore simply nodded once, looking none too thrilled. "They tell me I actually have to let you kids eat, so I guess so." Liam was pretty sure that was his sad attempt at a joke. "I trust you all brought something for lunch?" Everyone but Zayn nodded their heads, something which Liam didn't notice right away. "Great. Tomlinson and Styles, you two are on drink duty. There's a vending machine right down the hall. Get everyone something, and hurry it up. I'll go get your lunch from the cafeteria." It had been made clear to them that lunch wouldn't be provided for them, so they had been allowed to store whatever they brought to eat in the fridge that was normally used for the mass amounts of bulk foods the lunch ladies stored there.

Suddenly, Harry was in front of their table, holding out his hand. For a second or two, Liam wondered what his deal was, but then it dawned on him. Of course. They needed money for drinks. Liam pulled out his wallet and held out a dollar bill, brow furrowing when Zayn waved Harry off and told him that he didn't have his wallet on him. 

"I've got it," Liam said before he could stuff his wallet into his back pocket again, handing Harry another dollar before turning his attention to a surly looking Zayn. "What?" He asked, a bit taken aback.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It's not a big deal. Just a dollar. Plus if you didn't get one, I'd have to end up sharing mine, and that sort of grosses me out." Liam's attempt at a joke was met with a small smile from Zayn. 

A few minutes later, everyone had their drinks and their lunches had been delivered, and Liam couldn't help frowning when he noticed Principal Moore hadn't brought Zayn anything. Judging from the way Zayn was sitting there and not complaining, Liam was pretty sure it wasn't an accident.

"You didn't bring anything?" He questioned, opening his brown paper bag to dig out the assortment of stuff he'd thrown in there that morning when he'd been getting ready in a groggy haze.

"Nope."

"Why not? We're stuck here all day. You've gotta be hungry." 

"I'm not." Zayn was like a stubborn child.

Liam absentmindedly chewed on his bottom lip for a second, then turned his head to look at the table where Niall, Harry and Louis were all sitting. Niall was happily munching on some sort of sandwich, Louis was talking with his mouth full like he always did, and Harry was looking back at Liam, shaking his head. At first, Liam didn't understand what Harry was trying to tell him, but it didn't take him long to put two and two together. Zayn hadn't forgotten his wallet, and it wasn't that he wasn't hungry. Zayn didn't have any _money_. It made sense, after all. He was a high school student that was financially supporting himself, and he probably had all sorts of bills that Liam had honestly never taken into account because those weren't things he had to worry about yet. And honestly, with his trust fund sitting prettily in the bank waiting for him, he doubted he was ever going to have to worry about them.

Turning to look at Zayn again, he smiled and pushed his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the other boy's direction. The key to dealing with this, he figured, was to not say out loud what Zayn knew he had figured out. As long as he didn't embarrass him, it would be okay. Because just like he was too proud to admit he didn't have any money, Zayn was also too proud to potentially start an argument with Liam over it and have Niall and Louis figure it out, too.

"Thanks." It was a mumbled thank you, but the fact that Zayn had thanked him at all had Liam grinning. "What kind is it?" He asked, eyeing the sandwich.

"Peanut butter and jelly," he replied. Just an hour ago he might have been embarrassed by his sandwich choice, but the fond smile and shake of the head he earned from Zayn made him not care so much.

"Are you five?" Zayn teased, opening up the Ziploc bag the sandwich was in before popping open his can of Coke. 

"I've also got Doritos, Cheetos, a Slim Jim and a king sized Reese's."

Zayn just looked at him, his face at such a dead pan it was honestly a little funny. "Were you high when you packed your lunch this morning?"

Liam grinned at him as he ripped open the bag of Doritos. "Nope. Not even a little bit." Honestly, he had been so tired and groggy and grumpy that he had just stuck his hand into the cabinet and pulled out some chips. The Slim Jim had been a happy accident, the sandwich had been sloppily made as an afterthought, and the Reese's had been taunting him from the counter as he walked out.

"I figured someone like you would have some kind of weird healthy sandwich or one of those gross protein shakes that tastes like chalk," Zayn mused, biting into the corner of his newly aquired sandwich.

"Well, you figured wrong. I did eat an apple for breakfast. Figured that was my fruit for the day. Here," he said, plopping down the bag of Cheetos in front of Zayn.

"I like Doritos better."

"Of course you do." His grin betrayed his snide comment, and he took a second to pop one of the smaller Doritos into his mouth before swapping the bags, happily taking the Cheetos for himself. It didn't really matter, he liked them both. They were both cheesy and left orange stains on his fingertips. Good enough for him.

"Liam?"

He looked up from where he'd been trying to rip the infuriating plastic off of his beef jerky. "Yeah?"

"You do know I'm gonna have to pay you back now, right?"

Liam shrugged, finally ripping the plastic off and taking a bite. "Don't worry about it."

"What's your favorite food?" Zayn questioned, studying the peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost too intently.

"Pizza."

"God, you're so boring." Again, Liam might have been offended if Zayn hadn't been smiling that infuriatingly perfect smile of his.

"Well, fine, what's _your_ favorite food?" Liam asked.

Zayn hesitated, looking entirely too thoughtful before he answered with yet another smile that Liam was fairly sure he would never get tired of seeing. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."


	7. "And as Far as Being Concerned About What's Gonna Happen When You and I Walk Down the Hallways of School Together, You Can Forget it Cause It's Never Gonna Happen."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say in regards to this chapter other than Zayn and Liam drive me just as crazy as they drive each other! ;) 
> 
> I do have a question, though. In your opinion, should I end the story with the end of detention or keep going?

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

Liam was pleasantly stuffed with junk food, happily listening as Niall (who had joined their table at the promise of chips and more candy) rattled on about how Reese's peanut butter cups were the best invention on Earth. And he really _was_ listening, but he was finding it harder and harder to focus on anything but Zayn. His entire thought process had turned into Zayn Zayn Zayn. Zayn's laugh was perfect. His face was perfect. His stupid sparkly eyes were perfect. He smelled amazing, something that Liam had noticed the second Zayn had walked by him that morning. He smelled like some sort of citrusy cologne, and when that mixed with the faint trace of cigarette smoke still lingering on his skin and clothes, it became heady and made Liam feel drunk in ways that far surpassed the buzz of too much alcohol.

There were little things that Zayn did, that he probably didn't even realize he was doing, that threatened to drive Liam crazy. From the way his tongue poked out of his mouth every once in awhile to wet his lips, to the way his lips quirked into a smile every time he looked at Liam and caught him looking back, to the way his laugh managed to be both adorable and sexy at the same time. 

Liam was in way over his head. Because when all was said and done, he still didn't _know_ Zayn that well. He knew he lived on his own, knew he was broke, knew he liked comic books and had once owned Batman sheets. Liam knew he could flip between sickeningly sweet and infuriatingly stubborn at the drop of a hat, and he was honestly a little scared that things were going to change once this stupid detention was over. Because he could face the facts here. Maybe he was one of the school's star baseball players, but he was still nowhere near _cool_ enough for Zayn.

"Styles! Payne!" Principal Moore's voice snapped Liam out of his thoughts. "Bathroom break."

Again, he didn't necessarily need to go, but the thought of escaping the library for a few minutes was too tempting. Only this time it wasn't because he necessarily wanted to get away from Zayn. This time it was because he found himself wanting to be glued to his side, and that scared him. He would have preferred if Louis had been his bathroom buddy this time around, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"You know," Harry spoke up once they were in the hallway, trailing behind Liam a bit, "I feel like it's my job as the only sane person here to inform you that you and Zayn are making the rest of us want to puke."

Liam turned around to look at him, trying to tell if he was joking or not. As usual, he had no clue. "What?"

"It's like kindergarten all over again. Zayn's the mean little boy who keeps putting gum in your hair and pulling your pigtails, but you love it and keep coming back for more."

"Um, pretty sure five year old girls don't like it when people pick on them," Liam pointed out.

"But you're not a five year old girl."

"No, I'm not."

"Exactly." Harry looked pleased with himself, and the ridiculousness of the situation would have been funny if Liam hadn't been so damn confused. 

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. Just think about it."

Liam frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Think about what?" At this point, he was pretty sure his confusion was in part his fault because he kept asking questions that he knew he was only going to get cryptic, not at all helpful answers to.

"You're not stupid, Liam. You know what I'm trying to say."

They had come to a stop in front of the bathroom, but neither boy made a move to go in. Harry just stood there, looking at Liam expectantly, while Liam tried to piece together what the hell Harry was trying to say. When he didn't say anything, Harry rolled his eyes. 

"I take that back. Maybe you are stupid. Why do you think Zayn has been picking on you from the second he walked through the door? Why do you think he keeps telling Blue Eyes off on your behalf?"

"Wait, did you just call Louis bl-"

"Not important, Liam." For the first time, Harry actually looked a bit flustered, but he went on before Liam could prod him for further details. "If you don't get your shit together, I'm going to have to do something drastic, and you do _not_ want me to do that. Zayn's too damn stubborn. Been trying to tell him for a year to get his head out of his ass and talk to you, but he's a dumbass and doesn't listen to me."

Did Harry just say a _year_? "Wait, what?"

"I've gotta pee."

In that moment, Liam took back any thought he had ever had about Zayn being the most infuriating person he had ever met. That torch had been passed on to Harry. With a sigh, he made his way into one of the stalls, took care of his business, washed his hands, and then stepped back out into the hallway to find Harry already turning the corner towards the library. For a second or two, he actually considered running to catch up with him and making him explain, but then he thought better of it. Harry wasn't going to tell him anything else. Liam _was_ smart enough to realize that. So he walked back to the library at normal speed, where Zayn and Louis now waited for their turn. Not long ago, Liam would have been hesitant to let them wander into the hall together unsupervised, but now he wasn't too worried about it.

"Why the long face?" Niall greeted him with the question when he sat back down.

"It's nothing. Just getting kinda stir crazy, I guess." That wasn't a total lie. He wasn't sure how he was going to survive three more hours of this.

"I think we all are," Niall agreed. "If this is what prison is like, count me out."

Liam grinned at that. "Pretty sure prison is worse. You don't get candy for lunch, and your roomie would probably be a lot less pleasant than any of us."

It was Niall's turn to laugh this time. "Pretty sure they don't call 'em roomies in prison either."

"Touche."

"So," Niall said cheerfully, "still thinking about living out that Jerry Springer fantasy?"

Liam pretended to think about it for a second or two, weighing his options. "Nah, I think I'm good."

"That's what I thought."

Right. "Lou's not being a dick to you, is he?"

"Not at all. He's actually a pretty cool guy."

Liam nodded. "He can be. You've just gotta let him warm up to you. Like a puppy." A hand ruffling his hair caused him to jump, and he was mildly pissed off for a second or two when he thought Louis was the culprit. When he looked up to see that it was Zayn, his previous thoughts of smacking the offending hand away flew right out the window.

"You're the only puppy in this room, Payne." Unlike earlier, when Zayn had called him a puppy with such venom in his words that Liam might have been intimidated had he not been so pissed off himself, now he just found himself grinning that stupid grin of his that probably wasn't helping disprove Zayn's point.

"Bathroom's all yours." Zayn said, attention briefly turning to the blonde boy in front of them before it went right back to Liam. "What? Do I have Dorito dust on my face?"

Liam chuckled despite his embarrassment over being caught staring at Zayn. Again. "No. Just looking."

Zayn looked entirely too smug for Liam's liking, but he also looked so good doing it that he could hardly be upset. "You really gonna go to that party tonight?" 

"What party?" A pause, then he remembered what Zayn was talking about. "Oh. Uh, no. Probably not. I didn't really wanna go in the first place." He was pretty sure that wasn't exactly a shock to Zayn, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Liam was practically sitting on the edge of his seat, wondering if Zayn's line of questioning meant that he was going to ask him out. After all, it didn't seem so far fetched anymore. The compliments, the fact that Zayn had called him perfect earlier, what Harry had said about trying to get Zayn to talk to him for an entire year. It all gave Liam enough of a confidence boost to entertain the idea that maybe Zayn actually was interested in him, because he didn't think that Harry was one to mess with other people's emotions like that. Then again, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that had happened.

If he had seen just how hopeful his expression was as he waited for Zayn to say something, _anything_ , he would have wanted to crawl under the table and hide.

"Why not?"

That wasn't what he was expecting. Then again, did Zayn ever do _anything_ that Liam expected him to? Liam tried not to frown, tried to school his expression into one of nonchalance like Zayn so often did, but he just ended up looking confused. "I just don't. I don't really like parties that much. Plus you heard what Louis said, and I don't feel like starring in another episode of his messed up version of The Dating Game."

Zayn laughed. "He said nothing about dating, Liam. I believe his exact words were 'drunk and laid.' The way I see it, that's not a bad combination."

This time Liam did frown. "Are you saying you want me to go?"

"Why would I care what you do after this?"

"I... nevermind." That was it. Liam's brain couldn't take anymore of this back and forth, this push and pull that was driving him absolutely insane. One second Zayn was nice, then he was rude. Then he was saying something about how perfect Liam was, then he turned around and acted like he didn't care about him at all. Like it wouldn't matter if Liam were to simply disappear and not exist. He couldn't stand being reeled in by sweetness and compliments, only to be cast back out a minute later because Zayn was either bored with him or just plain liked knowing he could get to Liam that way every single time. "I'm gonna go sit with Lou." It was typical Liam fashion to just avoid a situation, but he was honestly at a loss. He thought he had made it perfectly obvious that he was interested, and Zayn had seemed to be on board there for a little while. Liam couldn't say why or at what point Zayn had changed his mind, but he didn't want to sit right next to him after having been rejected like that.

He stood up, ready to make his way over to where Louis was sitting with Harry and Niall, but he didn't get very far before he felt a hand grab ahold of his wrist. What _now_?

"Zayn, let go." Staying would mean having to have another difficult and probably frustrating conversation, and he really didn't want to deal with that so soon after being disappointed like that.

The other three boys had gone silent, two pairs of blue eyes and one pair of green turning to watch the show.

"I'm just trying to do you a favor," Zayn muttered, hand still holding on to Liam's wrist.

Liam wanted to scream. What kind of _favor_ could Zayn possibly be doing him by playing with his emotions like this? Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. It was the most annoying damn roller coaster that Liam had ever been on in his life, and he was starting to realize that yes, Zayn was definitely emotionally unstable. Because normal people didn't do this. Normal people didn't go back and forth so many times that it made the object of their affection's head spin. Or in this case, Liam guessed he wasn't the object of Zayn's affection anymore.

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it."

Liam sighed. He was really, _really_ starting to hate being told to think about it, especially when he never knew what this mysterious 'it' was supposed to be. "Think about _what_? Stop treating me like I'm stupid and just _tell_ me what you're trying to say!"

"I can't care about you when we leave here, okay?" Zayn replied, and Liam noticed for the first time that Zayn looked every bit as tired of this whole thing as he did. Maybe even more.

"Why not?" He was desperate enough to hear the answer that he could ignore whatever shame he might have otherwise felt from how whiny he sounded.

"Because this," Zayn said, hand moving between the two of them for emphasis, "isn't real life, Liam. This isn't the way things are supposed to be. We're in this bubble where everything seems awesome right now, but the second we step back out into the real world, it'll all be over."

Liam shook his head, still not pulling his wrist out of Zayn's grip. "How do you know that?"

"Tell me something, Liam. If you hadn't been in that locker room and had never gotten detention today, would you be talking to me?" Zayn didn't wait for Liam to answer. "Would Louis ever be sitting there at a table with those two, actually talking instead of calling them names or threatening to kick their asses? No. The answer is no, and that's why I can't give a shit when we leave. Because it's back to being Mr. Perfect for you two, and I don't know about Niall or Harry, but I don't feel like being left in the dust and looking like a moron when you decide that you're too good to talk to me."

"I never said I was too good to talk to you." Actually, it had been quite the opposite. "I've been talking to you all day."

"That's because no one's watching." 

"Well, what about you?" This time it was Louis that spoke up, coming to Liam's rescue again, and this time Liam was grateful. "If Liam came up to you in the hall Monday, what would you do? I can tell you exactly what you'd do. You'd look at him like he was an idiot, say something douchey like 'can I help you,' and send him on his way while you and your stoner friends laughed at him. So don't sit there and play the victim when you know you'd do the exact same thing."

"Do you want to know the only words you've ever said to me before today?" Liam asked, finally breaking the contact between him and Zayn. The more it lingered, the less he felt like having this conversation. "We were in line at lunch. I was just standing there waiting to get my food, and you cut in front of me and told me to get out of your way. So I'm sorry if I've never taken the time to talk to you before, but you don't exactly make it easy. But here... you've been different here."

"You've all been different here," Niall chimed in. "The only one that's ever spoken to me before today has been Louis, and that was just to call me a faggot." Louis looked down at that, obviously ashamed of himself. Niall didn't bat an eye, though. "I just... I don't get it. I don't get why you can't like a person just because they're a little different than you. So I'm smart, so what? I don't make fun of you guys because you're not." Coming from anyone else, that probably would have sounded like an insult. Coming from Niall Horan, it was impossible to be offended. "If you guys wanted to sit with me at lunch, I'd be happy. Because from what I've seen today, you're all actually pretty cool. I don't get why that has to change just because people are watching."

Liam frowned, feeling a bit awkward being the only one standing, but he stayed put. Sitting back down next to Zayn wasn't an option, and walking over to sit with the others would only make things weirder. 

"It matters because no matter what we say, we're all a bunch of cowards. We want to fit in, and when we find someone we fit in with, we stick with them no matter how big an asshole they are." Louis sent a pointed glance in Liam's direction, almost like an apology he couldn't quite make himself put into words yet. "It sucks and it's stupid, and I know it doesn't make any sense, but that's the way it is," Louis said.

"Doesn't have to be. So change it." Harry made it sound so simple. "It's easy. I don't have many friends, but the ones I do have don't care if you're a little different. If any of you came up to me at school, I'd talk to you just like I am right now."

Niall nodded. "So would I."

"That's because you're better people than we are," Louis told him.

Zayn had been infuriatingly silent, but Liam couldn't complain because he hadn't said much either. He didn't know what _to_ say. All he knew was that Louis was right; Niall and Harry were much better people than they could ever hope to be, and that made him feel like complete and utter shit. And honestly, the more he thought about it, the more he was realizing that after today he probably couldn't just stand by while someone was picking on Niall. The kid was too nice, too good a person for that to be allowed. He'd never pretend to laugh again when one of his asshole friends made fun of 'that piece of trash with the ear buds' because Harry had shown him more kindness in the last several hours than most of his so-called friends did in the entire time he had known them. He would never look at Louis the same way again, and he would never try to convince his friend to go home now that he had an idea what went on there. And Zayn... well, he didn't quite know how he was going to deal with the Zayn issue yet, but he did know that he didn't want to potentially air his private business and embarrassing feelings in front of Niall, Louis, and Harry.

"Come with me," Liam found himself saying, holding out a hand to Zayn. 

"What are you talking about?"

It felt good for once to be the one that wasn't asking that question. "Just come with me for a minute."

Zayn looked more than a little hesitant. He didn't take Liam's hand, but he did get to his feet and give Liam a look that said 'lead the way' before following him out of the library. They had to be quiet, but Principal Moore's door was closed, and even though he had threatened the five of them within an inch of their lives if they attempted to sneak out, it was surprisingly easy to creep passed the closed office door, down the hall a bit, and into one of the classrooms. It was actually the room Liam had English class in that semester, but it could have been any room and Liam wouldn't have cared. Closing the door quietly behind them, he then turned to look at Zayn.

He had moved further into the room and had hopped up onto the teacher's desk, giving Liam a look that was somewhere between impressed and confused. "Sneaking out of the library, huh? I'm impressed."

"Just shut up and listen to what I have to say." 

The small smirk that had been on Zayn's face before fell instantly at that, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Liam cut him off.

"No, Zayn. It's my turn. I've kept my mouth shut and let you pull me back and forth all day, but I want to know why you think it's okay to be nice to me one minute, then treat me like dirt the next." Again Zayn opened his mouth, and again Liam cut him off. "We may not be friends, and I may have never talked to you before, but I haven't done _anything_ to you to deserve some of the things you've said to me today. And I just... I don't get it! What do you _want_? You say things that make me think you might like me, but then you're back to making fun of me and making me feel like shit. I know you're too cool for me, okay? I'm well aware. But that doesn't mean you have to make me think I've got a shot and then turn me down again. When me and Harry came back from the bathroom, I thought maybe things would be different because he said something about you having wanted to talk to me for a year and that you were too stubborn to or something, but I'm starting to think he was just saying it to mess with my head because here you are, telling me I should go get drunk and laid at some party I don't give a shit about when I _thought_ you might have been trying to ask me out because I'm an idiot."

"Harry said what?"

Liam gaped at him, not sure whether he was angry enough to hit Zayn or frustrated enough to cry. Maybe a little bit of both. "Nevermind, Zayn. Forget I said anything." He was disappointed that he had basically just poured his heart out for nothing, and he looked completely defeated as he turned back to head towards the library.

"Liam, wait."

He shouldn't. He really shouldn't. He should tell Zayn that he missed his chance and that he was tired of playing games, but just like every other time things had gotten rough between them, Zayn was able to pull him in with those damn eyes of his.

Zayn looked relieved that Liam had actually stayed, but that was soon replaced by nervousness.

 _Good_ , Liam thought. _Serves him right._

"I like you, Liam. I do. Hell, I've liked you ever since I first started here and saw you with your stupid backpack hanging open, and your papers were flying everywhere, but you were too distracted by Louis to notice. And that was when I knew that it was never gonna happen. Because I _watched_ you. I watched how you followed the stupid jocks around and did whatever they said. I saw how happy it made you when Louis or one of the other guys complimented you, and hanging out with me? That wouldn't get you anywhere. I didn't tell you to get out of my way that day because I was trying to be a prick. I said it because I needed an excuse to shove you away and make it seem like I didn't like you so I wasn't tempted to go up to you and tell you how goddamn cute you look when you wear baseball tees. I needed to not think about you, and I was actually getting pretty good at it until today. When I walked in and saw you sitting there, I panicked. So I tried to think of what would hurt you the most, and I've pretty much said it all today, and I'm _sorry_ , okay? You just... you scared the shit out of me when you asked me to come to one of your baseball games, Liam. It's like you were dangling everything I've wanted for the past year in front of me, and I just knew that it was gonna be ripped away from me on Monday when I tried to talk to you, and you called me a loser or something. Because compared to you, I am. You're so goddamn perfect and _nice_ and everything I'm not."

Liam just stood there, his brain not able to wrap around half of the things Zayn had said. They made sense, of course. They explained so much of what had happened, but that didn't make it any less shocking to actually hear the words coming out of Zayn's mouth. "Why... if you think I'm so nice, then why do you think I'd do that to you?" Liam asked, referring to what Zayn had said about everything changing Monday.

"Because. You're the golden boy, Liam. It may not sound like it, but I really wouldn't blame you if you did."

"What if I said I don't wanna be the golden boy anymore?"

Zayn's grin was small, but it was there and genuine. "Then I'd say you were lying."

"Well, what if I said I can still be the golden boy and be with you at the same time?"

"Then I'd say you were delusional."

Liam realized then that nothing he said was going to prove to Zayn that he was serious, so he did the only thing he could think of. "Will you go out with me tonight?"

"What?"

"Will you," Liam said again, speaking a little too slowly and mimicking the patronizing way Zayn had been talking to him pretty much all day, "go out with me tonight?"

"Like a date?" Zayn asked.

"Duh."

"You sure you can handle all Saturday night with me, too?" Zayn was smiling now, and Liam felt such a sense of relief that it was slightly dizzying.

He nodded, smiling back. "Positive."

"So you're agreeing to spend the night with me?" 

Liam hadn't said that. He honestly hadn't even _thought_ about it, but that wasn't an offer he really had the will power to say no to. Especially not after he had almost lost the opportunity so many times. So even though his mind was already made up for him with a very strong yes as his answer, he just grinned and gave Zayn that same infuriating answer he had been given earlier when Liam had asked him to come to one of his games.

"We'll see."


	8. "Being Bad Feels Pretty Good, Huh?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so, so much for all of your feedback! I REALLY appreciate it, and I totally agree that there should be a sequel. So you can count on that! Because a) I want to give you what you want and b) I don't have much longer to go with this one, and I seriously doubt I'm going to want to part with it once detention comes to a close! :'(

Liam had planned on returning to the library pretty quickly, but it seemed that _plans_ and Zayn Malik didn't go hand in hand. Especially when Zayn stayed put on the desk and smirked at him in that way that made Liam weak in the knees, motioning with his right index finger for Liam to come closer. He was still standing close to the door, and for a very, _very_ brief second he almost considered telling Zayn no, that they should get back to the library before they were caught and given another detention. But as usual, he couldn't tell him no. Not when he was finally getting what he wanted.

Still, he hesitated long enough for Zayn to roll his eyes playfully, now holding out a hand. "C'mon, Liam. I told you I wouldn't bite, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. Not unless I want you to," he grinned, happily complying and making his way over to Zayn.

"Have you changed your mind about that yet?" He took Liam's hand as soon they were close enough.

Liam looked down at their joined hands for a second, then back up at the boy on the desk. "Still the worst pick up line I've ever heard."

"You didn't answer the question."

"That's because I know you already know the answer and are just being a pain in the ass because you wanna hear me say it," Liam pointed out, brow raising as though daring Zayn to say that he was wrong.

"Then say it."

Standing so close to Zayn made Liam feel breathless, and not in the same way he had been earlier. This wasn't the kind of breathless that felt like it was crushing his chest. This was a good kind of breathless, the kind that made him feel like he was floating and never wanted to come back down. That feeling only intensified when he felt Zayn's free hand slip around his waist, and he watched as the other boy parted his legs enough so that Liam could fit between them, which he did when Zayn urged him forward with a hand on the small of his back, Zayn's other hand letting go of Liam's and moving to rest on his shoulder. 

"Nope." The word came out as a whisper, something Liam might have been slightly embarrassed by had his entire body not felt like it was on fire. Now, it wasn't like he had never done _anything_ with anyone before. He had kissed girls, had even attempted to fool around with a few, but he had never gotten any further than trying to put his hand up their shirt, which he had had to stop when he realized that touching a girl that way wasn't exactly helping him stay in the mood. 

This, though, was a completely different story. He loved the way Zayn felt under his hands when he settled them on his sides. He loved the slight definition he felt instead of the feminine softness that had turned him off every other time he had been in this situation. He loved the fact that there wasn't any flowery perfume invading his senses, only the slightest smell of citrus and understated remnants of cigarette smoke that he was growing more and more fond of. He loved the fact that he was actually filled with nerves instead of the usual dread and thoughts of ' _how long until she notices I'm not into this_?' It was easy, so very easy, to forget that they technically weren't supposed to be here, and that there would be hell to pay if Principal Moore decided to pay the library a visit while they were gone.

But right now? Liam didn't care. He could be sentenced to Saturday detentions for the rest of the semester for all he cared. He was pretty sure it would be worth it.

"You're worried we're gonna get caught, aren't you?" Zayn teased, probably noticing the tension in Liam's shoulders. Little did he know that that wasn't what was causing it. Not at all.

"Shut up," Liam replied playfully, taking it upon himself to lean in and do what he'd wanted to do even since he'd laid eyes on Zayn's perfect lips.

The kiss was soft, close mouthed, and probably a bit too chaste. But Liam didn't think it would be a good idea to just plunge right into a full on makeout session. Besides, he couldn't help that he was a bit of a romantic at heart, and he didn't want his first kiss that counted to be filled with sloppy tongues and too much teeth. And really, a peck on the lips was all he needed right that second, because he felt the slight pressure being returned by the other boy, reveled in the fact that he was kissing Zayn and Zayn was kissing him back. Letting it linger too long would have been awkward, so he pulled back after a couple of seconds to try and read Zayn's expression.

Liam felt the pressure of a warm hand on the back of his neck, and he let Zayn pull him forward again. He watched as Zayn's tongue dipped out to wet his lips, endlessly fascinated. Of course he wanted to know what Zayn's lips and mouth tasted like, but it also dawned on him then that he wasn't anywhere near as experienced as Zayn was. He'd sloppily kissed girls at parties and had never really perfected any sort of technique before, and he couldn't help but worry about what would happen if he was a bad kisser. Would Zayn be too nice to tell him? Or worse, would he pull away in disgust and tell him that he was a horrible kisser?

Their lips met again before Liam really had time to prepare himself for it. This time, Zayn's lips were warm and a bit slick from where he'd licked them, and he wasted no time in trying to coax Liam's lips open with a slow swipe of his tongue. Liam obliged, parting his lips while Zayn tilted his own head a bit more to the right, then let his tongue lick into Liam's mouth. It wasn't harsh or messy, and he moved slowly, as though he could tell that Liam didn't really have a lot of experience in this department. His hand had moved from Liam's neck, slipping up to tangle gently in the hair on the back of his head. Liam pushed his tongue against Zayn's, letting the other boy set the rhythm while his own hands moved further down Zayn's sides, coming to rest on his hips. A soft humming sound escaped when Zayn bit gently at his bottom lip as he pulled away, but Liam was far too focused on how good it felt and how good Zayn tasted to be embarrassed.

When Liam opened his eyes again, he found Zayn grinning at him. God, he was beautiful. He'd been beautiful before, but now his lips were slick and slightly pinker than they had been before, and Liam found himself really, _really_ wanting to lean forward and go in for another one, but he forced himself not to. What they had done had been relatively chaste. Anything any more intense than that, and he was pretty sure they'd be in this room for far longer than they needed to be.

"You taste just as good as you look." 

Liam did turn a little pink at that, but it wasn't the type of embarrassment that made him want to hide. Instead it just made him grin like an idiot, but he was starting to be perfectly okay with that.

"If we don't go back to the library now," Liam began, still breathless, "then I can't promise you I won't kiss you again, and I also can't promise we won't both end up in detention for the rest of our lives."

Zayn laughed softly at that, leaning in to give Liam another peck on the lips before applying a bit of pressure to his shoulder, urging him to move back so that he could hop off the desk. When he did move, he took Liam's hand, gave him another one of those smiles that drove Liam crazy in the best way possible, nodded towards the classroom exit in silent instruction, and then followed Liam back out into the hallway.

Liam didn't move through the halls with the same careful precaution as before, too happy with Zayn's hand in his to care if they got caught. Besides, if he did happen to land himself in detention next week, Zayn would be right by his side again, and if that was the case, he was pretty sure he could handle hauling himself out of bed at six o'clock on a Saturday morning to come to school.

But potentially getting caught wasn't the only issue they had to deal with, and it made Liam stop before they got to the library door. "Wait." He waited until Zayn did to go on. "What do we tell them?" He asked, referring to the three boys waiting for them in the library, who probably thought one of them had strangled the other by now.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, incase you haven't noticed, Lou's nosy. He'll want to know what's going on between us, and I just sort of wondered, you know... if you were okay with telling them the truth or just telling them we've settled our differences and don't want to kill each other anymore?"

Zayn looked thoughtful, a grin spreading over his face. "I never made any promises not to kill you."

"Yes, you did."

"When?"

Liam grinned and raised his hand as if to say 'hey, remember me?' "Baby antelope, remember?"

"Well, shit."

"I'm serious, though," Liam insisted, although the smile on his face at Zayn's teasing sort of betrayed his words. "Because, you know, I'd get it if you didn't want them to know."

"Liam, I think they already do."

Liam hadn't really considered that, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Zayn was probably right. They had been watching the two of them all day. Watching as Zayn flirted and Liam blushed. While they acted like two little kids who liked each other and chose to show it by making fun of one another. While Zayn kept his arm around Liam for at least twenty minutes and Liam let him, had even moved closer and leaned into the embrace. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was probably okay. Harry was cool and obviously knew there was something there to begin with, Niall was such a nice guy he wouldn't say anything even if he _did_ have a problem with it, and Lou... well, Lou was a bit different. Liam didn't think he was going to cause any problems for them or anything, but he also knew that even though Louis and Zayn had seemed to settle their differences for the time being, Zayn wasn't exactly at the top of his list of favorite people. Louis would probably worry, would probably half heartedly try and talk Liam out of giving Zayn a chance, and Liam would find it really difficult to be angry at him for it because he knew it was coming from a good place. Not only that, but just this morning, Liam had thought that Zayn was bad news, too, and had been perfectly fine admiring him from afar.

There was still the issue of what would happen Monday morning, because while things were just fine now, he couldn't see them walking down the halls together. He just couldn't picture it, and it wasn't because either of them were bad people. He just knew that Zayn wouldn't want to deal with Liam's friends, and he wouldn't want to deal with Zayn's. But that didn't matter right now. Monday was a long way away.

"I do have one request, though." Zayn's smooth voice brought Liam out of his thoughts.

Liam looked at him curiously, a bit worried at what Zayn might ask him to do, or not do. "What is it?"

"Why don't we wait to tell them about tonight until it's over? You know, just incase it's an epic disaster."

Liam frowned. "Why would it be an epic disaster?"

Zayn just smiled, giving Liam's hand a gentle squeeze before he let it go for good this time. "It won't be. I'm just saying. No pressure, right? I don't date. I mean, I never really have before. I'm not good at dating, and I don't want Harry to turn into a thirteen year old girl and come over with... I don't know, outfits and stupid ideas and candles and stuff."

 _Oh_. So Zayn was nervous. But in typical Zayn fashion, he just didn't want to admit it. Liam understood. "Deal. No telling them until later. And definitely no candles." He wrinkled his nose a bit at that. Because while he might be a romantic at heart when it came to some things, he was definitely not a middle aged woman who thought that a candlelit dinner with her husband counted as date night. 

"Good." Zayn was positively beaming as he led Liam back into the library, where three pairs of eyes turned to them the second they crept through the door.

"So, we've been making bets on what you two have been doing," Louis announced. Oh God. This couldn't be good. "I said you'd killed Zayn and stuffed him in a locker."

Zayn looked at Liam, his brow quirked at that. Liam just grinned. 

"I said you two were being nice and getting us snacks," Niall said with a shrug. Really, was this kid a bottomless pit? He had to be. He was half the size of Liam, yet he seemed to eat four times as much and _still_ wanted more.

"Uh, sorry." Liam replied, holding up his hands to show that they'd come back empty handed.

"And I said you two were fucking in a classroom somewhere." Harry sounded as calm as though he had just stated the sun was shining outside or that the carpet was blue.

Liam was almost positive that he was fifty shades redder than he had been a few seconds ago, and he quickly moved to sit down in the seat he'd been occupying all day so he didn't have to look at the others. He did, however, want to turn around and chuck his book at Harry's head when he kept going.

"Zayn's still alive, and you don't have any food. I win."

Louis' laughter was the first thing Liam heard, followed by Zayn telling Harry to 'shut the fuck up before I kick the shit out of you' as he took his spot next to Liam again. 

"Hey, Liam?" Louis called from a few tables back. Liam really didn't want to turn around and look at him, didn't want to hear whatever snide or perverted or just plain outrageous comment might come out of his best friend's mouth, but it wasn't like he could ignore him. So he reluctantly turned around, brows raised in question.

"Yeah?"

"You're off the hook."

"I... huh?" If Liam had a quarter for every time Louis had confused the shit out of him in his life, he was pretty sure he'd be a billionaire. 

"Tonight. You're off the hook. Harry here has never been to a real party, and since you so _rudely_ turned me down earlier, he's taking your place."

Liam could count on one hand the instances in which he had been truly grateful to Louis. A couple of them had actually happened today. Right now, he sort of wanted to get out of his seat and hug him, because he didn't miss when Louis' gaze shifted to Zayn, as though he somehow knew that he and Liam had plans tonight. Maybe he did. Liam was actually starting to wonder if maybe Louis had cameras installed everywhere Liam went, because he always seemed to know what he was doing and what he was thinking before Liam even knew himself.

"Can I go?" Niall asked, and his expression was so hopeful that Liam would personally throttle Louis if he told him no.

"Sure, why not." Louis shrugged. "You like cheap beer?"

"I like all beer." Niall stated, his face lighting up at being invited along. Okay, so he had sort of invited himself along, but that was okay.

" _You_ drink?" Harry asked, looking skeptical.

"Well, yeah. Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I don't like to get buzzed. Problem is I just never have anyone to get buzzed _with_."

"Well, now you do." Louis lightly slapped Niall on the back. "Operation Corrupt Payne has been aborted, replaced by Operation Get Horan Drunk."

"Thank God," Liam said, earning a fake glare from Louis. "You've been trying and failing at that first one for years now. Thought you'd get the hint."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I give up, okay? Happy?" Louis relented.

"Ecstatic."

Zayn was smirking when he leaned over, his hand on Liam's shoulder for balance as he whispered into his ear. "I've taken over that one now, you know. And I don't give up."

Liam felt his cheeks on fire again, but he really didn't care, and there was no way he could have stopped the huge smile from overtaking his features before he answered. 

"Good."


	9. "Screws Fall Out All the Time; The World is an Imperfect Place."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, I am so, so sorry about the massive delay! Personal life and my crazy work schedule got even crazier and I had very little time to actually sit down and write. But I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things! I had to re-read what I've written so far and get back into the mindset of these crazy characters, and this chapter was already half finished back in May, so finishing it was a bit of a challenge just because of the gap. BUT here it is, and I can assure you that there will NOT be a three month gap between now and the next chapter.
> 
> Anyway! I am still planning on continuing this after they get out of detention, but I'm undecided if I want to do it in sequel form or just keep going. Either way, I love these characters way too much to let go of them. 
> 
> ALSO thank you so, so much for continuing to comment and bookmark and leave kudos! :) It makes me so happy that you guys love it enough to ask me to keep going with it. I know this chapter title doesn't make total sense, but I felt with the topics addressed in this chapter, 'the world is an imperfect place' fit pretty well.

"You like baseball?"

"No."

"Football?"

"No."

"Basketball?"

"No."

"Anything?"

"Not really."

Liam had his head pillowed on his arms, listening to the conversation between Harry and Louis with a small smile on his face. He knew exactly what Louis was doing. He'd seen him try to do it before, but never so persistently. Louis was trying to crack away at Harry's armor, trying to find something that he could impress him with when the time came. And Harry, unlike most other people Louis had ever set his sights on, was giving him nothing.

"What do you do, then?" Louis asked, and Liam picked up that familiar hint of irritation in his voice.

"Not much."

Zayn, who Liam had thought had fallen asleep minutes ago, groaned. He didn't lift his head from the table as he spoke, his voice muffled by his leather jacket that he was using as what had to be the world's most uncomfortable pillow. "He likes music. Shitty bands no one gives a crap about."

Louis seemed to perk up at that. "Like the one on your shirt?"

" _No_ ," Harry replied, sounding insulted. "Alabama Shakes isn't shitty, and they won a Grammy, for fucks sake," He argued, clearly talking to Zayn.

"They still suck," was Zayn's muffled reply. Liam couldn't help grinning.

A snore interrupted their argument, and it was no secret who it came from. Niall had passed out at least thirty minutes ago. He had been snoring softly ever since, every once in awhile letting out a much louder one when he shifted around a bit or turned his head. It had been hilarious at first, but it had long since lost its novelty.

"Wake up!" 

This time Liam wasn't so happy to see Principal Moore standing there, and not just because he seemed angry that they had either fallen asleep or were dangerously close to doing so. This time he didn't want to move. He was too comfortable, too accustomed now to feeling Zayn's leg pressed against his own under the table. "Payne, Tomlinson, up. The drama club is moving in props for their play next weekend, and they need help with the heavy lifting."

Liam groaned inwardly, not wanting to get up from his seat and definitely not wanting to go carry around stupid props for a stupid play he wasn't even going to see. He glanced at the clock. One forty-five. An hour and fifteen minutes. In a way, Liam didn't want three o'clock to come, but in other ways he was _so tired_ of sitting in that damn library. Not to mention he had a date tonight, something he had already freaked himself out about more than once.

"Come on," Louis said, clapping Liam on the shoulder as he walked passed him. Liam reluctantly got up, and they followed Principal Moore down the hall, to the left, and into the theater where a slightly chubby boy and a girl with thick glasses were pointing around, trying to decide where they wanted certain things placed. 

"Oh good! The muscle's here." The girl approached, her voice squeaky in a way that Liam was pretty sure would have gotten on his last nerve if he spent very much time around her. "Mostly we just need help moving the backdrop," she explained, pointing to three very large pieces of... actually, Liam didn't really know _what_ they were. "It's split into three pieces, so it shouldn't be too hard for both of you to carry. We just need it brought up onto the stage and set back against the wall."

"Got it." Louis nodded. It was only once the girl had left them alone and Principal Moore had disappeared (but not after making sure they knew they were expected back in the library in no less than fifteen minutes) that they got to work. The pieces of the set weren't really all that heavy, just big and awkward to carry up the eight steps that led onto the stage. They were both a little winded by the time they were finished, but they had a few minutes to spare before Principal Moore would inevitably be back looking for them.

"You're gonna make me say it, aren't you?" Louis asked with a sigh.

Liam looked at him like he was nuts. "Make you say what?"

"I just think you should be careful, okay?"

It was then that Liam understood. Of _course_. This was why Louis hadn't griped the whole time they'd been moving this stuff, because he wanted to get Liam alone and give him the lecture that Liam just knew was coming. "I'll be fine, Lou."

"You don't know that. What about all the shit he said to you earlier?"

"It's fine, Lou." Not a very persuasive argument, but what else could he say? It wasn't like he was going to repeat everything Zayn had told him about why he'd said those things. 

"Where are you going with him tonight?"

"How do you know I'm going anywhere with him tonight?"

"You always forget, Li," Louis said teasingly, tapping one of his temples. "I know everything."

Liam sighed, torn between grinning and slapping Louis upside the head. "I don't know yet. We haven't actually made plans, we've just decided we're hanging out tonight. But don't say anything about it in front of the others, okay? He doesn't want anybody to know."

Louis stopped dead in his tracks, and Liam could practically see the anger in his eyes. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're telling me you two are going on a date, but that douchebag doesn't want anybody to know? Liam, come _on_."

"No, it's not like that!" Liam reassured him, wishing that he was anywhere but having this conversation right now. He knew that Louis was just worried, and he could see how his previous statement could be taken the wrong way, but he didn't want Louis thinking Zayn was a jerk before he even gave him a chance to prove that he wasn't. "We just... neither of us really wanted anybody to know, okay? And it's not because either of us are ashamed. It's just that he doesn't do the whole dating thing, and I don't either. You know that better than anyone. We didn't want to put any pressure on it and make it into this huge thing when it's really not."

"But it is a huge thing," Louis argued, although his tone wasn't very argumentative. It was like he was stating a fact, not trying to prove a point.

"Why does it have to be?"

"No, I'm saying it's huge to you. Whether you wanna admit it or not, it's a huge thing to you. Because I'm not blind. I can see how much you like him, and I know what's gonna happen if things don't go the way you want them to go tonight."

"Louis, I don't even know how I want things to go tonight."

Louis shook his head, sighing fondly as he wrapped a companionable arm around Liam's broad shoulders. "You're hopeless, buddy. Hopeless. Just know one thing, though. If he does anything to upset you and I find out about it, he's going to find my hands wrapped around his pretty little neck. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." 

"So," Liam began, figuring it was time to turn the tables a little bit. "What's going on with you and Harry?"

Louis' face was carefully blank, and that told Liam everything he needed to know. "Nothing is going on with me and Harry. He just told me he'd never been to a party, and I told him what I told you. He can't be seventeen and have never been to a real party and still be my friend."

"So he's your friend?" Liam put emphasis on that last word.

"Yeah, I guess. I still think he's weird as hell, but he's kinda cool."

Liam laughed as they began walking back to the library. "Hate to tell you, but I think we're all weird as hell. Just in different ways."

"You may have a point." A pause. "But I was serious, Liam. Be careful."

"I'll be careful," Liam promised, although he was pretty positive he didn't have anything to worry about, especially since he and Zayn would be alone tonight. And Liam liked Zayn more than ever when they were alone. 

Louis nodded, accepting Liam's answer. At least for the time being. He was almost too quiet as they walked, proof that there was definitely something on his mind, but Liam knew not to pry with Louis. All prying would get you with Louis Tomlinson was a tongue lashing, and things were going to smoothly between them that he would really rather wait it out and see of Louis would come to him first. As it turned out, he didn't have to wait for long.

"I am sorry, you know. For getting you in trouble. For all the shit I've put you through, actually." Louis paused, his discomfort obvious. 

Liam took that opportunity to interrupt, to let Louis know that everything really was fine, that he understood. "No, it's okay. You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do. I know I've made you feel like shit since I first met you, and I'm sorry. I don't know why you've stuck with me this long, but you have no idea how much trouble I'd be in if you weren't around."

Liam nodded, understanding that those words held double meaning. Not only would Louis be in trouble more at school, but he wouldn't have a place to stay because none of their other friends were as tolerant as Liam. None of their other friends would always answer the door when Louis stumbled up drunk, make him some coffee or grab him something quick to eat, and let him pass out on _their_ bed while they took the floor or the couch. Well, in Liam's case there was always a guest bedroom available, but he knew that wouldn't have been the case with some of their other friends. 

"I never knew, Louis. You know, about your dad."

"Yeah, well, I never figured there was a point in telling anyone."

That made Liam a little sad, because maybe if he had told someone, Louis wouldn't have to go home to that anymore. Still, he nodded. "You can come stay with me whenever you want. Even if I'm not home for some reason, you can always come over. My mom thinks you hung the moon basically, and my dad won't even notice, so they won't care."

Louis nodded, face schooled into that carefully blank expression that usually worried Liam. Now, though, he knew exactly what was going on. That was Louis' 'I don't want to talk about it' face, and Liam was going to respect that. Besides, he didn't like talking about how his own parents didn't even notice he was in the house. Or how his mom really only talked to him when she wanted him to do something for her or show up somewhere for her. Or how his dad shoved a new credit card in his hand instead of coming to see Liam play or taking him out to lunch every once in awhile. Talking about heavy problems wasn't going to fix them anyway. Liam just wanted Louis to know that he was there for him.

This time when Liam reclaimed his spot next to Zayn, the other boy actually had drifted off to sleep. Or so he thought. He felt a hand settle on his thigh, low enough that it wasn't too risky but too high to be considered friendly. Zayn didn't open his eyes right away, instead speaking in that impossibly smooth voice of his.

"Did you break a sweat?"

Liam grinned. "Um, no. We weren't even there for fifteen minutes, Zayn."

"I could make you break a sweat in fifteen minutes."

"Do you ever stop?"

Now Zayn did open his eyes, grinning up at Liam before raising his head and sitting upright again. "Do you want me to stop?"

This time Liam laughed quietly. "No."

"Good."

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Liam asked, thinking back on his conversation with Louis. They needed to make some sort of plans so they weren't standing there trying to decide where to go when they met up later on. 

"Whatever you want." Zayn sounded like he meant it.

"Okay. Then I want to come over to your place and play Candyland." As hard he tried, he couldn't keep a straight face when he suggested that. 

Zayn smirked. "You want to play Candyland?"

"You don't like Candyland? Alright, what about Hungry Hungry Hippos?"

"You're such a dork, Payne."

"Clue?"

"Only if we can act it out and I can actually hit you over the head with a candlestick."

"I thought we decided on no candles."

Zayn was actually laughing by that point, and Liam would have kept making a fool of himself for however long Zayn would allow it if it meant he would keep smiling like that. "You really want to come over to my place?"

Liam didn't even have to think about it for a second. "Yeah, I do."

"I told you, it's a shit hole."

"I don't care."

Zayn was still grinning a bit, but his tone had turned decidedly more serious. "I don't have any food there."

"I'll bring something to eat," Liam offered. "You can throw out whatever excuses you want, Zayn, but that's not gonna stop me from wanting to come over. I'll bring dinner, and we can just hang out. No pressure."

"Right. No pressure." Zayn repeated, although he didn't look entirely convinced.

Liam took that opportunity to take Zayn's hand under the table, trying to convince him that he wasn't going to run screaming if Zayn's apartment - excuse him, shit hole - wasn't up to his standards. "Zayn, I'm not going to be there for the food or what the place looks like. I just want to hang out with you. And if you really don't want to go to your place, we can go somewhere else."

That seemed to make up Zayn's mind. "No, we'll stay at my place. Just do me a favor?"

"Sure." It was scary how Liam agreed before he even knew what said favor was. 

"You've gotta promise you'll stay the night."

"Didn't I tell you we'll see?" Liam asked teasingly.

"Yeah, but I don't accept that answer. I want you to stay the night."

There was something about the vulnerability in Zayn's eyes and tone of voice that made Liam pause, and he realized that Zayn's asking him to stay the night this time went far beyond sex. Hell, Liam couldn't even say for sure that they were going to have sex because the fact remained that he still didn't know Zayn that well. Not only that, but they'd already established that he was a virgin, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that kind of thing yet. But there was also something there that hinted that Zayn's struggle went far, far beyond the potential disappointment of not getting laid. 

He was lonely. It didn't take a genius to see that. He was lonely and insecure, and his asking Liam to stay was his way of asking Liam not to reject him at the end of the night.

"I'll stay," Liam replied with a nod, grinning at him before he continued. "I'll bring the chick flicks and the nail polish and we'll have a sleepover." 

Zayn laughed softly again, shaking his head and delivering the playful insult that Liam was starting to love hearing. 

"You're such a dork, Payne."


End file.
